Zee Media Bureau/Ritesh K Srivastava
New Delhi: With the BJP-led NDA government nudging various governors appointed by the previous Congress regime to step down, West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan has sought more time to put in his papers.
Sources in Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday that Narayanan is willing to quit but wants more time to wind up.
“The West Bengal Governor indicated in a letter to the Home Minister that he would take a few days to wind up before he resigns,” a source said.
Meanwhile, Nagaland Governor Ashwini Kumar is also expected to put in his papers soon.
"No one has asked me (to resign). But if any order comes, I will follow it," the former CBI director, who was appointed Nagaland Governor in March last year, had told reporters after meeting Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Kumar was CBI Director when the agency arrested BJP general secretary Amit Shah in connection with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case in Gujarat.
Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart K Rosaiah too have said they are willing to resign, the sources added.
The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to be finalising a list of replacements for outgoing Governors.
The government wants to retain just two - ESL Narasimhan, who is governor of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and Kamla Beniwal of Gujarat who had several run-ins with Modi when he was chief minister.
Earlier, two governors had resigned- BL Joshi of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh’s Shekhar Dutt.
The Supreme Court had in 2010 ruled that governors “cannot be removed on account of their political or ideological leanings” and that the government should state its reasons in writing for asking a governor to go. Government sources said the Centre might offer “reasons”, if needed, in some cases.
