Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Saturday tendered his resignation from his position as the State’s Governor, and the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
Citing “personal reasons” and “other commitments” for his resignation, Mr. Purohit sent a letter to President Droupadi Murmu. His resignation came a day after he had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“Due to my personal reasons and certain other commitments, I tender my resignation from the post of the Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Union Territory, Chandigarh. Please accept the same and oblige,” Mr. Purohit wrote in his letter.
Mr. Purohit has been Punjab’s Governor since August 2021. He also served as the Governor of Assam from 2016 to 2017, and the Governor of Tamil Nadu from 2017 to 2021.
After the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was formed in Punjab in 2022, Mr. Purohit and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann remained at loggerheads on numerous occasions over different issues, including on the holding of Assembly sessions and the appointments of Vice-Chancellors. However, last month, during the ‘At Home’ reception on Republic Day, hosted by the Governor, the participation of Mr. Mann, who last year gave the customary ‘At Home’ events a miss, was being seen as his attempt to break the ice with the Governor.
During his stint the Governor, through his letters, Mr. Purohit kept raising issues surrounding the AAP government’s working. He also complained that the Chief Minister had not given a proper and satisfactory reply to his queries on corruption and complaints related to anomalies in the government. Mr. Purohit even warned that if the CM did not provide him with replies in accordance with the Constitution, then he would have to send a report to the President of India under Article 356 on the failure of the Constitutional mechanism in the State. The prevalence of the drug menace, illegal mining, and the deteriorating financial position of the State were among the issues Mr. Purohit raised.
Mr. Mann, meanwhile kept asserting that Mr. Purohit was constantly interfering in the State government’s functioning. He even termed the Governor’s correspondence as “love letters”, evoking a sharp reaction from the Governor, who pointed out that through the letters, he sought information on legislative and administrative issues, and not the Chief Minister’s personal life.
The tiff between the Governor and the AAP government remained on public display often. In 2022, the Governor and the AAP government were involved in a face-off over holding a special session of the State Assembly for the tabling of a confidence motion, following the AAP’s allegation that attempts were being made to topple its government in Punjab with agents of the BJP offering bribes to its legislators.
