JAIPUR, Oct 24: Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has asked for a reappraisal of the Governor's role within the country's federal structure. His call followed developments in UP, where ``an attempt was made to stage a coup of sorts and negate the mandate of the people by clothing it in the trappings of the constitutional obligations of the Governor,'' he saidShekhawat said the UP Governor's recommendation for President's rule was tantamount to ``a flagrant negation of all norms of Constitutional propriety as well as the spirit of parliamentary democracy'' . ``If it were not (for) the intervention of the President and the reaction of shock and disbelief felt by all sections of society the designs of the UP Governor in riding roughshod over all democratic norms had almost succeeded,'' he remarked.Shekhawat said that if the UP Governor was allowed to have his way, he would have made all else meaningless: the convening of a special session of the UP Assembly and a clear demonstration of a majority on the floor of the House duly recorded and video taped.Describing the events of the day, Shekhawat said first, some people had deliberately spread violence in the House; and secondly, an ``obliging Governor'' sent a report that there had been a breakdown of Constitutional machinery, which could be restored only if he was made to ``lord over the destinies of people'' under President's rule.Shekhawat believed a debate was needed to ``examine the mode of appointing a Governor and for devising suitable mechanisms to monitor his conduct''. Safeguards were also needed to prevent misuse of power, he said.The Constitution could be amended - and the issue discussed in the forthcoming Parliament session - to provide for this because time and again, he remarked, the Governor's office had been grossly misused by ``pliable'' incumbents. UP, in his view, had proved to be the proverbial litmus test of the strength of Indian democracy and had earned for the President the gratitude of all citizens who believed in the sanctity of democratic processes and the rule of law.Shekhawat described recent political developments as ``the beginning of the erosion of the Congress''. He said Congress president Sitaram Kesri's demand for President's rule in UP was foolhardy. As for the fate of the UF Government, he said, it depended on Kesri. However, he refused to answer questions on Gujarat.
