My experience with three Governors

The swearing-in of Mr. Ravindra Narayan Ravi as Governor of Tamil Nadu has prompted me to write this article. It reminds me of the years that I spent as Secretary to Governor in the Raj Bhavan.

I had the opportunity of working with three Governors as Secretary. I was Additional Secretary in the Planning and Development Department in the Secretariat in 1987. On 30th November, the Chief Secretary called me to his room and told me that the Governor wanted to see me the next day. He explained that the Secretary to Governor was going to be replaced and my name was one of the three shortlisted for consideration.

I called on the Governor, Mr Sunder Lal Khurana, on 1st December at 11 a.m. He had retired as Union Home Secretary a few years earlier and had the reputation of being a tough man. He was also considered to be close to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when he was in service. Before coming to Tamil Nadu, he had served as Lt Governor of Puducherry and as Lt Governor of Delhi. He became Governor of Tamil Nadu in 1982 and had been in the Madras Raj Bhavan for more than five years. It was with some trepidation that I entered the room. He was quite pleasant and asked me a lot of questions about my education, experience, family, etc. He had obviously gone through my bio-data. He was quite excited when he realised that his batchmate, Mr. G.S. Srinivasan, is my father-in-law. He spoke warmly about him and was upset when I told him that he had passed away in January 1986. Our meeting lasted about 25 minutes. He had to interview two more officers that day. The meeting went off better than I had expected and I was quite happy.

I was informed by the Chief Secretary late in the evening that the Governor had selected me and orders would be issued immediately. True to his word, the Chief Secretary issued the order late that night and I was asked to join immediately. I did so on 3rd December, my birthday. Working with the Governor, the highest dignitary in the State, and having an office at the Raj Bhavan, was going to be a new experience and all of us, especially my parents, Kausalya and Rahul, were quite excited about it.

Raj Bhavan has a beautiful garden and I loved my room, a far cry from the drab atmosphere in the Secretariat. Filter coffee and freshly brewed tea were served in style by the liveried staff. Delicious sandwiches and vada were made available on demand.

One of the main jobs of the Secretary to Governor is to draft speeches and messages for the Governor. A number of important files come to the Governor for formal approval and have to be seen by the Secretary. Since the Governor is also the Chancellor of most of the Universities in the State, there is work related to the administration of Universities. With a Governor like Khurana the work of writing speeches proved quite a challenge. He expected the speeches to be of a very high standard and wanted them to read a particular way. He would also expect the draft to be made available at least a week before the event. Many organisers of events do not give the material required unless you goad them many times. My draft for the first speech was returned by the Governor who said “it needed improvement”. This happened with the draft for second speech also. He wouldn’t say what was wrong with the draft or what improvement was needed. It was some consolation when my predecessors, who had worked with Khurana, told me that they also had the same experience. Kausalya came to my rescue and did a great job improving the language as well as the content of the two speeches. They were both approved . Another draft, in which Kausalya’s contribution was substantial, was approved with the remark that it was a good draft! Meanwhile, I went through all the speeches made by the Governor since he took over and got a fair idea of what he expected. But I did not have to do this for long because sudden developments unfolded in Tamil Nadu forcing the Governor to focus on those issues.

I must state here that the job of Secretary to Governor is generally not stressful. Most of my predecessors enjoyed a relaxed tenure. But in my case even the so-called “light assignments” became heavy and important after I assumed charge. I had hardly settled down into my routine when Chief Minister MGR suddenly passed away on 24th December, exactly three weeks after I took over as Secretary to Governor. The senior-most Minister, Mr V.R. Nedunchezhian, was sworn in as Acting Chief Minister. Ms. Jayalalithaa, who was ambitious and had been groomed by MGR to be his political heir, announced that she had taken over as General Secretary of the party. Nedunchezhian wanted to contest the election for the leadership of the legislature party and become Chief Minister. He was supported by Jayalalithaa and her group, which included some Ministers. But a majority of the Ministers led by Mr. R.M. Veerappan, who resented the importance given to Ms. Jayalalithaa and feared the prospect of her takeover of the party, persuaded MGR’s wife, Ms. V.N. Janaki, to lead the party . They thought they could win the sympathy of the people and the support of the rank and file of the party by propping her up. They also thought they could call the shots with Janaki as Chief Minister. Janaki, a reluctant entrant to politics, yielded to their pressure. The party split into two factions. (Ironically, S. Muthuswamy of the Janaki group and K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran of the Jayalalithaa group are both Ministers in the present DMK Cabinet, 34 years after the split.)

Ninety-seven MLAs of the AIADMK signed a memorandum supporting Janaki and submitted it to the Governor. Barely 30 MLAs were in Jayalalithaa’s camp that supported Nedeunchezian. Raj Bhavan was the focus of all attention. Politicians of all hues called on Khurana. Joumalists came in hordes and pestered me for information on what was going on. I was tight-lipped. At the time of my joining, the Governor had advised me not to be too close to politicians or journalists and be guarded while speaking to them. This advice stood me in good stead during the crisis and in later years. The Governor, after consulting constitutional experts, invited Janaki to form the government, a decision strongly criticised by Jayalalithaa. Janaki was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 January, 1988, the first woman in Tamil Nadu’s history to get that honour. I was witness to history being made! The Governor asked Janaki to prove her majority on the floor of the Assembly by 28 January.

There was hectic political activity during the three weeks following the swearing in of the CM. Jayalalithaa made it appear as though the constitutional machinery had broken down. Wild and reckless allegations were made against the Governor by some sections of the vernacular press. Some reports alleged that crores of rupees had changed hands. When I briefed the Governor on what was reported, he laughed and asked “how many crores did I get?”

. On 28th January, when the Assembly met to take up the motion of confidence in the Chief Minister, there was absolute pandemonium on account of the Speaker, P.H. Pandian, showing open support to Janaki's side. The Congress decided to remain neutral at the vote of confidence. Claiming sky-high powers, the Speaker disqualified a number of MLAs including some of the Congress party, effectively reducing the strength of the Assembly and paved the way for the Chief Minister to prove that she had the majority. He overruled all the objections made by the opposition. All hell broke loose, goondas entered the house and started beating up the pro-Jayalalithaa group. The Commissioner of Police, Walter Dewaram , entered the house with his men on the orders of the Chief Minister/Speaker to “restore law and order”. Amidst the confusion, the confidence motion was put to vote and the Speaker declared that the motion was passed and that the Chief Minister had proved her majority.

The people of Tamil Nadu were shocked by the turn of events. There were protests not only by those sympathising with the Jayalalitha faction but other opposition parties as well. The media was extremely critical of the way the Speaker conducted the proceedings of the house. The Governor was also criticised “for not handling the issue properly”.

I could see that Khurana was under tremendous stress at that time. Most of the criticism against him was unjustified. He was aware of the murky situation and wanted to go by the rule book. If the Congress, which had won 61 seats in alliance with the AIADMK in the 1984 elections, had decided to continue to support the faction which had the backing of most of the MLAs, a stable coalition government comprising the AIADMK (Janaki) and Congress could have been formed. But the Congress wanted to fish in troubled waters and wanted to impose President’s Rule. That’s why the party decided at the eleventh hour to stay neutral. The Governor sent a report to the Centre on the proceedings in the Assembly on 28th January and his assessment of the situation. The Central Government rejected the Speaker’s contention that the Chief Minister had won a vote of confidence. The Janaki Ramachandran Ministry was dismissed and President’s Rule was imposed in the State on 30th January, 1988. Rajiv Gandhi, who was Prime Minister, apparently felt that Khurana’s continuance as Governor had become untenable. Within a couple of weeks of imposition of President’s Rule, he was replaced by Dr P.C. Alexander, who was serving as India’s High Commissioner in UK. I worked with Mr. Khurana for less than three months. It was too short a period for me to have had a personal equation with him. He was officious and impersonal and, as the crisis developed, he became more withdrawn. He was pained that a section of the media had tarnished his reputation. But this particular period was one of the most eventful in the history of the State and most stressful for the Governor.

It was sad that Khurana, who had a good rapport with MGR for five years, had to leave the State a bitter man.



R. Santhanam
September 2021
(The second and concluding part of this article will appear in the next issue)