Of Back Stabbing Brahmins and Dalit Governor, Suraj Bhan
Sid Harth
Why Bhan was shunted
Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow
The sudden removal <03up.htm> of Uttar Pradesh Governor Suraj Bhan has
raised many eyebrows in Lucknow. Political circles were agog with
speculation whether the decision was taken by Chief Minister Rajnath
Singh or forced upon him by Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati.
Bhan will exchange places with Himachal Pradesh Governor Vishnu Kant
Shastri.
Political analysts believe that the traditionally upper caste Hindu-
dominated Bharatiya Janata Party was either targeting upper caste
votes, or it was out to woo Mayawati, who saw Bhan, a dalit, as a
threat.
Bhan supporters believe that his assertive style of working alarmed the
BJP leadership. While former chief minister Kalyan Singh had often
raised objections against the governor's 'activism', Rajnath thought it
best to have Bhan out of the way before any confrontation.
Bhan asserted, "I have never believed in being a ceremonial figure."
He took up tasks which no governor had - be it reforms in universities,
including streamlining academic calendars and appointment of vice
chancellors, or pointing out bunglings in implementation of dalit
welfare schemes. His divisional-level meetings to get feedback on the
state's development caused heartburns between him and Kalyan Singh.
Bhan's became more emphatic and open about his strong dalit agenda
after Kalyan's ouster.
He started a campaign against large-scale misappropriation of funds for
dalit welfare and took it up with President K R Narayanan, who promptly
set up a seven-member committee of governors to look into it.
This was followed by whole-hearted patronage to a new dalit outfit of
senior bureaucrats, police officers and other government employees,
Rashtriya Arakshit Adhikari Evam Karamchari Mahasangh [National
Federation of Reserved Category Employees].
While BJP sources were tight-lipped about the reasons behind the sudden
move, political observers feel it had something to do with
an "underhand deal" between the BJP and BSP.
Bhan supporters say it was done to appease Mayawati, who had sought his
head as a pre-condition for an alliance with the BJP. Mayawati often
declared her reservations about Bhan. She often alleged, "Bhan has been
brought to counter my influence over dalits but it will have no effect
on my following."
Even on Friday, after news of his removal, Bhan took the opportunity to
recapitulate all he had done for dalit welfare since his student days
in Punjab. "I started my mission long ago," he said, narrating how he
had once brought a bill in the Lok Sabha seeking enactment of a law for
implementation of reservations.
"The bill was defeated as my party was not in a majority, but it did
make an impact as it was followed with the constitution of a
parliamentary committee on scheduled castes and scheduled tribes."
On what led to his shifting, he told ridiff.com, "How do I know? I had
no prior inkling," but added, "frankly, I am happier to be closer to my
home in Haryana. And since I know Himachal Pradesh like the palm of my
hand, it won't be difficult for me to pursue my agenda there."
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov04/up.htm
HP and UP governors to swap places
Pro-active Governor Suraj Bhan shifted out of UP Raj Bhavan
DH News Service
NEW DELHI, Nov 3
The controversial Uttar Pradesh Governor, Mr Suraj Bhan, whose "pro-
active" style in Raj Bhavan had attracted criticism from the BJP, was
today shifted to Himachal Pradesh, just a week after the new Chief
Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, took office.
Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, will swap places
with Mr Bhan and take over as Governor in Lucknow, a Rashtrapati Bhavan
communique said here this afternoon.
The shifting of Mr Bhan comes in the midst of reports that the ruling
coalition led by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh had not taken kindly to
his "pro-active and assertive" style of functioning. The swapping of
places by the two was announced in the Rashtrapati Bhavan communique
which said the two appointments will be for the remainder of their
terms of office. Their appointments will take effect from the date they
assume charge of their respective offices.
Mr Bhan, who took over as UP Governor in December last year, had raised
a controversy sometime back when he sought details about the
expenditure on government schemes for the welfare of people belonging
to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and had also hosted a
function at Raj Bhavan involving RSS functionaries.
Meanwhile, Mr Shastri, who arrived here from Shimla, is leaving for
Lucknow tomorrow to take charge. Mr Bhan, who is in Gujarat, is likely
to reach Shimla on Sunday.
Mr Bhan, who had come to know about his shift, was in Delhi last week
and unsuccessfully lobbied for his stay in Lucknow at least for two
months. He tried to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home
Minister L K Advani but they reportedly refused to meet him. Mr Bhan,
who is believed to have spoken to President K R Narayanan on the
telephone, tried to get more time as UP Governor so that he could
complete the report of Governors' Committee on Dalits whose convenor he
is.
Mr Vajpayee, who has not liked the way Mr Bhan conducted himself in the
Lucknow Raj Bhavan, reportedly refused to accept Mr Bhan's request for
not shifting him to Shimla. Mr Bhan had become assertive with the BJP
functionaries as his son was not given a party ticket in Haryana. Mr
Bhan, who belongs to Ambala, had a grouse that while the BJP leaders
were promoting their sons in the party, his son was being ignored.
Being a dalit, Mr Bhan had played a pro-active role as a champion of
dalits and virtually assumed a second centre of power in Uttar Pradesh.
Most of the BJP Dalit leaders and workers were trying to treat him as
their leader. To further widen the rift between the BJP and the RSS, Mr
Bhan started wooing RSS functionaries and even organised a RSS function
in the Raj Bhavan.
The BJP leadership, particularly Mr Vajpayee, did not like the way Mr
Bhan was conducting himself. The BJP did not want that there should be
another Dalit face of the party other than Bangaru Laxman himself. The
Congress has had many Dalit leaders but the official face of the Dalits
was Mr Jagjivan Ram. Similarly, the BJP's only Dalit face is Mr Laxman
and nobody else.
For this reason, the BJP chose an all upper caste team in Uttar
Pradesh, which is going to the polls next year, in order to win over
the high caste people by appointing the governor, the chief minister
and the state party chief from the upper castes. Some Dalits leaders of
the party, including Mr Sangh Priya Gautam, were supportive of Mr Bhan
and wanted him to be retained in the Lucknow Raj Bhavan. Mr Vajpayee,
who did not agree to this, probably believes that an assertive governor
is against the spirit of democracy.
http://www.hinduonline.com/today/stories/01040003.htm
Suraj Bhan shifted to H.P.
By Harish Khare
NEW DELHI, NOV. 3. Mr. Suraj Bhan has been moved out of the Raj Bhavan
in Lucknow and posted as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh. His place in
Lucknow has gone to Mr. Vishnu Kant Shastri, incumbent Governor of
Himachal Pradesh.
This was announced in a press communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan this
afternoon.
For both Mr. Suraj Bhan and Mr. Shastri it is not a fresh appointment,
but a case of transfer. The Rashtrapati Bhavan communique makes it
clear that the ``appointments will be for the remainder of their
respective terms of office.''
Both are known to be BJP men, and the swapping of places between them
reflects the intra-party calculations, rather than any constitutional
principles. In fact, the departure of Mr. Suraj Bhan from the Lucknow
Raj Bhavan was on the cards for sometime, as the BJP establishment has
not been totally happy with his pro- active approach to the
gubernatorial assignment.
In particular Mr. Bhan had taken it upon himself to keep vigil over the
interests of Scheduled Castes, and this was not much appreciated by the
BJP hierarchy in Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, as Governor Mr. Bhan
has been seen to be an active advocate of ``reservation,'' and he, in
fact, heads a committee of Governors, appointed by the President of
India after the last Governors' conference, to look into the
inadequacies in the implementation of the reservation arrangements.
In fact, it is believed that Mr. Suraj Bhan sought to invoke the
intervention of President Narayanan to ward off a transfer out of the
Lucknow Raj Bhavan; however, limits of Presidential capacity to
influence course of events in normal times asserted themselves.
It is ironic that Mr. Bhan should have fallen out of favour with the
BJP establishment, as he was cited earlier as a shinning example of the
party's accommodative approach towards weaker section. Now that the
party is headed by a Dalit himself, perhaps the BJP can afford to
jettison a lesser symbolic figure- head, without inviting the charge of
being prejudiced against Scheduled Castes.
On the other hand, Mr. Vishnu Kant Shastri is known to be an RSS
ideologue. His presence in Lucknow, however symbolic, would help the
BJP's latest electoral strategy to consolidate its upper- caste
support. Mr. Shastri also has claims to be a poet of a sort, and as
such counts himself as a literary peer of the Prime Minister.
http://www.timesofindia.com/today/04indi1.htm
Suraj Bhan makes way for Vishnu Kant Shastri
By Biswajeet Banerjee
The Times of India News Service
LUCKNOW: The decision to change the UP governor may have ended the
confrontation between the state government and Raj Bhawan, but it seems
to have opened a Pandora's box for the BJP. The pro-Dalit stand of
Suraj Bhan was so profound that his removal has virtually sent the
message that he has been sacrificed for his public stance on the issue.
Bhan has been asked to swap places with the governor of Himachal
Pradesh Vishnu Kant Shastri. The new incumbent is likely to take charge
on Sunday.
The change of guard has further strengthened the belief, both in BJP
and other parties in the state, that Dalits are being given a short
shrift in UP. While Bhan is a Dalit, his successor Shastri is a
Brahmin. Almost all the important posts in UP are now held by upper
castes. The CM is a Rajput, state party chief Kalraj Mishra is a
Brahmin, and new chief secretary BN Tewari is also a Brahmin.
And the feeling was palpable in the BJP office here. "The lone Dalit
face in BJP has also been taken away from us," said a party general
secretary.
What appears to have forced the Centre's hands was Bhan's refusal to
act as a rubber stamp in his almost two-and-a-half-year stint. He had
pulled up the government on a number of occasions for non-
implementation of the Special Component Plan. He was critical of the
government's failure to check the misuse of scholarship funds meant for
SC/ST. Much to the embarrassment of the government he had toured the
length and breadth of the state to hold divisional meetings and had
even pulled up officials for their laxity in providing relief to
Dalits.
"My style of functioning must have hit a few people very hard," said
Bhan Friday night without elaborating on who these persons were.
For the last two months, the governor had become very `active' much to
the chagrin of the government. He had raised questions about the poor
law and order situation by writing letters to the principal secretary,
home, and had even questioned why orders issued by Raj Bhawan were not
given importance. He minced no words in showing displeasure over
certain decisions which were taken keeping him in the dark. He had
pulled up higher education minister Om Prakash Singh for unilaterally
taking the decision making it compulsory to have 50 per cent marks for
post-graduate admission. The government was finally forced to beat a
retreat on this issue.
Sources in Raj Bhawan say that Bhan knew about his impending removal.
It was communicated to him by Union home Minister LK Advani when he
came to Lucknow for chief minister Rajnath Singh's swearing-in. "I do
not mind going to Himachal. It is a picturesque state, and is also
nearer to my home state of Haryana," said a smiling governor.
--
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