New Delhi: Bihar Governor Buta Singh has resigned after much debate over his indictment by the Supreme Court for his decision to dissolve the Bihar Assembly in May 2005.
Singh, who was under tremendous pressure to step down, faxed his resignation to President A P J Abdul Kalam hours after taking the salute at the Republic Day parade in Patna.
"I have faxed my resignation letter to President," Singh told reporters in Patna.
Singh was severely indicted by the Supreme Court on Tuesday for his decision to dissolve the Bihar House.
Addressing a press conference, Buta later said he would explain his stand to the Supreme Court.
Buta's resignation came soon after the core group of the Congress met at the Prime Minister's residence to discuss his exit earlier in the day.
Apart from the Prime Minister, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Shivraj Patil were present in the meeting.
While Home Minister Shivraj Patil told newspersons that the Core Group would meet again on Thursday evening, sources said the meeting was of the view that Buta should resign voluntarily in the light of the apex court judgment.
If the Governor does not resign voluntarily, the Government is left with no option but to sack him,the sources indicated.
With pressure mounting from the opposition as well as from the Left parties, the Congress High Command was even toying with the idea of asking Singh to voluntarily step down.
The Prime Minister, who had said he would respect the Supreme Court verdict, consulted Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Law
Minister H R Bharadwaj, among other colleagues.
The apex court, which had in its interim report held the dissolution of Bihar Assembly unconstitutional, in its detailed verdict, also held the Union Cabinet guilty of not properly verifying the report sent in by the Bihar Governor recommending dissolution of the Assembly.
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Congress on it's part has tried to justify it's stand saying that they had always maintained that the order of the Supreme Court be obeyed in letter and spirit.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "The point of the matter is that the observations of the Supreme Court have been mde against the office of the Governor. The Apex court has deliberately omitted to use similar words against any other authority. There is no blameworthiness and no question of anything else happening. We are appreciating the fact that the Governor has resigned in deference to the order. I think the criticism has been unnecessary."
On the Cabinet being misled and accepting Buta Singh's order without verification, Singhvi said that, "I think this is a misleading and erroneous viewpoint. The SC, while noticing that the Central government had been misled, nonetheless deliberately omitted from allocating blame. This deliberate omission has to be given meaning. Everytime an executive order has been issued by the SC, it is not the same thing as blamae allocation or malafide."
"If every error of the executive, reversed by the court leads to resignation, then Vajpayee and Advani should have resigned many times over whenever the SC reversed their decision especially in respect to Ayodhya and the Gujarat Assembly case," he added.
He also said that the constructive part of the judgment was looking into political appointees as Governors. "I think the Sarkariya Commission, the Bommai judgment and the Buta Singh judgment should serve as guidelines. We should look at them together and perhaps amend the Constitution or change laws to ensure the loopholes found in practice are plugged."
Singhvi stated that Congress is ready for counter suggestions and prepared to take the debate on political appointees for the post of Governor forward in long-term.
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