Goa Governor Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Governors should examine Bills passed by the elected legislature within a reasonable time,” Goa Governor Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju has said.
He was speaking to a group of journalists from Kerala who visited the Lok Bhavan in Panjim last week as part of a press tour organised by the Press Information Bureau.
Responding to a question from The Hindu regarding the not so cordial relationship between Governors and some State governments including Kerala and the pendency of Bills, he said that some of the conflicts need to be analysed and corrected, if they need correction.
“I have not done an analysis on Kerala. My individual opinion is that a Governor should examine Bills within a reasonable time, but what is reasonable should be defined. I don’t think it is the correct way to put time limits by law. We Governors are not monarchs. We are all functionaries. To put it another way, we are creatures of the Constitution of India. As a Governor, you should be more constitutionally oriented,” said Mr. Raju, who has in the past served as the Union Civil Aviation Minister.
As many as 14 Bills passed by the Kerala Assembly are currently pending with the Governor. Mr.Raju said that there has to be a respectful relationship between the governments and Governors, just like in a “family”.
“I remember that the practice of Bills being kept pending, began from Andhra Pradesh. A former Governor merrily sat on eight Bills passed by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. There were cartoons in the press showing the Governor sitting down with a bandaged thumb showing that she is too injured to sign. After the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations gave its recommendations, there was a process of consultation. Some Governors are known to be unreasonable, just as some Chief Ministers are. Now there are attempts to further refine these relations like the Justice Kurian Joseph Committee appointed by Tamil Nadu. This has to evolve. We have to respect one another. It is like a family relationship,” he said.
Mr. Raju said he is not in favour of State governments using the Governor’s Policy Address to criticise legislations passed by the Parliament.
“If a State government wants to criticise some step of the Union government, they can criticise from the floor of the House. There is no need for them to get the Governor to criticise legislations passed by the Parliament or vice-versa, because the government has also implemented these articles to the best of their understanding,” he said.
Published – March 04, 2026 04:05 pm IST
