New Delhi: The Centre has asked five governors of states to resign from their posts, but the governors have refused to obey the Centre's directive, reliable sources told India TV this evening.
In its prime time show Aaj Ki Baat, Rajat Sharma Ke Saath, India TV telecast the story, citing reliable sources, about the Centre sending messages to the five state governors to quit, but the governors have refused saying they were ready to face dismissal.
Under the Constitution, the tenure of governors is normally five years, but the President, with the advice of the Prime Minister, can remove them from their posts earlier, or the governors may resign of their own.
The India TV report says, UP governor B L Joshi, Kerala governor Sheila Dikshit, Punjab governor Shivraj Patil, West Bengal governor M K Narayanan and Madhya Pradesh governor Ram Naresh Yadav have been sounded by the Home Ministry to either quit or face the axe.
The report says, all these five governors have refused to send their resignations, and have asked the Centre to take whatever action it deems fit.
UP governor B L Joshi was appointed governor in July 2009, while Sheila Dikshit was appointed in March this year after the Delhi poll debacle, in which she and her party were defeated. Punjab governor Shivraj Patil and WB governor M K Narayanan were appointed in January 2010, while MP governor Ram Naresh Yadav was appointed in August 2011.
The NDA government at the Centre wants to appoint senior BJP leaders Yashwant Sinha, Chaman Lal Gupta, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Kalyan Singh, Keshari Nath Tripathi and Balram Das Tandon as governors, says the India TV report.
