Governors should shun politics: C P Radhakrishnan

Chennai: Veteran BJP leader and newly appointed Governor of Jharkhand, C P Radhakrishan, said that it was not proper for those holding the gubernatorial post to talk politics or display political aspirations as they should  leave their past and concentrate on development.

Speaking to the media at the Chennai airport, where he arrived from Coimbatore on Monday to a rousing welcome by party workers and supporters, Radhakrishnan said that a person could argue for his clients as a lawyer but on being made the judge the same person should only render justice.

Similarly political leaders, on becoming Governors, should put aside political aspirations, he said, triggering speculations in the grapevine that he was taking a potshot either at Tamilisai Soundararajan, the present governor of Telangana, or R N Ravi of Tamil Nadu as both of them have been accused of indulging in politics in their respective States.

The senior BJP leader's statement also assumes significance in the present day context where all the Governors appointed in States run by non-BJP governments have been accused of playing politics and interfering with the government in various ways.

Since Jharkhand, too, has a non-BJP Chief Minister in Hemant Soren and the outgoing Governor Ramesh Bais was accused of creating political controversies, Radhakrishnan's professed new approach could possibly be due to the BJP's itself changing its strategy to destabilize non-BJP governments through Governors.

Radhakrishnan, who did not elaborate on his code of behavior for Governors, expressed happiness over three persons from Tamil Nadu being appointed as Governors at the same time – L Ganesan for Nagaland, Ravi and Tamilisai Soundarajan – and said that it showed the appreciation President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister had for Tamil Nadu, Tamil race, culture, tradition and literature.

Never in the history of Tamil Nadu had three persons from the State served as Governors the same time and it was a matter of pride for the entire State and not any individual, he said, adding that the appointments also exemplified the recognition that Modi gave for hard work and in choosing people who worked without expecting rewards for responsibilities.

Once he took office as Governor, for which the date would be finalized in a day or two, he would create a cultural bridge between Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand, paving the way for the development of both the States, he said.

Jharkhand had a large number of Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste population living in the lowest rung of social order and it would be a pride for Tamil Nadu to strive for their uplift, he added.