The war of words between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Governor Banwarilal Purohit does not seem to have an end in sight. Governor Purohit on Tuesday evening released an open letter to Chief Minister Mann, calling him “indifferent,” prompted by the lack of response from the state government towards furnishing information he sought in various letters.
In his letter, the Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh wrote to Mr Mann, reminding him of the dereliction of Constitutional duty. The Governor also quoted a portion of orders from the Supreme Court which were passed on the petition of state government, which reads: “It would be necessary to underscore that both the Chief Minister and the Governor are constitutional functionaries who have specified roles and obligations earmarked by the Constitution. The Governor has a right to seek information from the Chief Minister in terms of Article 167 (b) on matters relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation.
Once such information is sought, the Chief Minister is duty bound to furnish it.” The letter further stated that “the ‘tone and tenor’ of the tweet and the letter by the Chief Minister leave much to be desired. Not furnishing the information which was sought by the Governor would be plainly in dereliction of the Constitutional duty which is imposed on the Chief Minister in terms of Article 167 (b).”
It is pertinent to note that CM Mann shared a post on his Twitter handle on Monday, claiming that the Governor of Punjab had only used the term “my government” in his address to the Budget Session of tge Punjab Assembly after being reminded by the CM. In response to this, the Governor wrote that he “instantly accepted the suggestion, while delivering the speech itself” whereas the Chief Minister has been indifferent to the orders of the apex court which were passed about four months ago.