Raj gov Kalyan Singh roots for BJP, stirs controversy
New Delhi, March 25: Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh on Monday stirred a political controversy by allegedly saying that as a worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he “genuinely” wanted it to win the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, and hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power as it was important for the nation.
“As a worker of BJP, I genuinely want the party to win. We want that once again Narendra Modi should become the Prime Minister of India. It is important for the nation and society that Narendra Modi should become the Prime Minister again,” he said.
Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) president Sharad Yadav on Monday accused him of abusing his constitutional post by making political comments.
Referring to Mr Singh’s statement where he said that, Mr Yadav said: “Governor is not a ■
representative of any political party. It is a Constitutional post.”
“I have been in politics for the last 40 years but I never saw the post of governor being misused in this way. I am telling from day one that our Constitution is in danger. One who is occupying a Constitutional post and making such statements is unfortunate,” Mr Yadav said.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot also objected to governor Kalyan Singh’s statement, saying he should be “non-partisan” as it does not suit the dignity of the post he is holding.
“The post of governor is constitutional and in democracy it is expected from governors to be non-partisan and maintain distance from party politics. It is really unfortunate that Sh Singh has made
such statements which do not suit the dignity of the post he is holding,” Mr Gehlot tweeted.
“Personally we have utmost respect for Shri Kalyan Singhji. He is not only governor of our state but is a very senior leader too,” he said.
On March 23, Mr Singh, talking to reporters in Aligarh had said, “We all are BJP workers and we want the BJP to emerge victorious. We want that Modi ji should become the prime minister. It is important for the country."
Mr Singh, who previously served as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1991-1992, was appointed governor of Rajasthan in 2014. A governor is considered to be a neutral post and the person occupying the office must not side with any particular political party.