Purohit resigns as Panjab Governor

Panjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit resigned on 3 Feb, the office he held since August 2021. This was after a meeting with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. He is a three-time MP and earlier served as the governor of Tamil Nadu and Assam. Shortly after the AAP came to power in Panjab, Purohit sent off a series of letters to CM Mann seeking clarifications on several issues, even warning that he would recommend the President’s Rule and launch criminal proceedings if his queries went unanswered. Recently, after a more than six months delay, he gave his nod to three pending Bills earlier passed in the state assembly (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 5, Story 1). Purohit’s resignation comes days after the Chandigarh mayoral polls, in which the AAP and INC combined raised allegations of rigging and moved the Supreme Court to challenge the results. The BJP swept the polls, retaining all three posts. Manoj Sonkar was declared the winner with sixteen votes. The BJP had a total of fourteen plus one vote, likely by SAD and one more by BJP Member of Parliament Kirron Kher. The AAP and INC had thirteen and seven votes each but got a total of twelve votes after eight were declared invalid. On 5 Feb, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, ‘Won’t allow democracy to be murdered like this,’ and directed the entire record of the elections be sequestered under the custody of Punjab and Haryana High Court Registrar General. Given the Supreme Court’s track record on important judgments, it is prudent to not go by the rhetorical statements of judges and wait for the final decision.