How MLC nominations under governor’s quota stirred controversy

Hyderabad: Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s rejection of the two MLC recommendations by the KCR government has raised the bogey of the governor’s roles and nominated posts once again.

Nominated posts, particularly to the Legislative Council or Rajya Sabha — the Upper House in the Assembly and Parliament — have always raised curiosity, controversy and objections in every government in the country. The issue of nominated posts extends beyond Rajya Sabha, Legislative Council and Constitutional posts.

Breakdown of Telangana Legislative Council

As per the process witnessed over the years, barring exceptional cases, people close to the ruling party who could not be accommodated for the Assembly and Lok Sabha tickets, among other reasons, were considered for the nominated posts.

In the 40-member Telangana Legislative Council, 14 members are indirectly elected by the State Legislators, 14 are elected by local authorities, three from Graduates’ constituencies, three from Teachers’ constituencies, and the governor nominates up to six eminent persons as members from various fields.

Every time a nominated post has to be filled up, it kicks up a row in the government, including in the BRS government, because the aspirants are too many and the posts are too few. The rejection from the Raj Bhavan only adds fuel to the fire!

Kaushik Reddy case started a cold war

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had his first brush with the governor when the latter rejected the nomination of a BRS leader Padi Kaushik Reddy as an MLC under the governor’s quota in November 2021.

The rejection led to bad blood between the governor and the ruling party leaders. The chief minister later sent Kaushik Reddy — who took on BRS-turned-BJP MLA Etela Rajender — to the Legislative Council under the MLA quota.

In the aftermath of a bitter cold and open war between the chief minister and the governor, just when it looked like things were settled, especially after the governor was invited to the Secretariat, the fight between the Pragathi Bhavan and the Raj Bhavan came back.

Like in the Kaushik Reddy case, BRS leaders including some ministers have come out in the open and attacked the governor for rejecting the MLC nominations of Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders Dasoju Sravan and K Satyanarayana to the Legislative Council under the governor’s quota. The BRS leaders went hammer and thongs against the governor and accused her of deliberately rejecting the files, besides attributing political motives.

Achievements in literature, science, social service missing

Despite the backlash from the rejection, unfazed, the governor curtly advised the Cabinet and CM KCR “to avoid such politically aligned persons to fill up nominated posts under Article 171(5) of the Constitution of India, defeating its objectives and enactment.”

The Raj Bhavan maintained that even if Dasoju Sravan’s summary mentioned his active participation in politics, corporate and academic sectors, it did not indicate any special achievements in literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service, and hence there was no apparent consideration of the fulfilment of the preconditions required under Article 171(5) of the Constitution.

Under Article 171(5) of the Constitution, members nominated by the governor should have special knowledge or hands-on experience in areas like literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service.

The State Cabinet, which met in the first week of August under the leadership of CM K Chandrashekar Rao, recommended the names of Dasoju Sravan and K Satyanarayana as nominations to the Legislative Council under the governor’s quota.

Sources in the BRS said that the two were nominated since they had worked for the party during the Telangana movement and did not nurture an Assembly constituency of their own through many factors.

This is not the first time one has seen a tiff between the Raj Bhavan and the state government. However, there were fewer when the ruling parties at the Centre and the State were the same.

CMs used to appraise governors on files

“In the past, chief ministers, keen to seek approval of select files, used to call on the governor and put forth the proposals. Going by the nature of the file, the governor used to advise the CM, who accordingly sent a tailor-made file for approval. If the ruling parties were the same at the Centre and State, the tiffs were few and sorted out across the table. There was trouble when the State and Centre were ruled by different parties like during the NT Rama Rao regime etc.,” a senior retired official, well versed with Raj Bhavan affairs, said.

He added, “Since there is a BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and a BRS government in the State, the controversy is magnified. The CM should have sent a tailor-made file to avoid this kind of controversy. During the undivided AP governments too, files were returned for necessary amendments or rejected.”

Karnataka faced a similar controversy

In neighbouring Karnataka too, the government’s selection of MLC nominees has kicked up a row. However, it has nothing to do with the Karnataka governor Thawar Chand Gehlot. This issue is with the selection of candidates by chief minister Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah chose actor-turned-politician Umashree under the arts quota; MR Seetharam, director of MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, under the education quota; and former IRS officer Sudham Das, son of former Sathnur MLA H Puttadas who joined the party five months back, under the social service quota.

Senior party leaders objected to the selections and accused the CM of bias by ignoring deserving party leaders. It is learnt that the CM shared two posts and deputy CM DK Shiva Kumar shared one. A complaint was filed with the governor against the nomination of Seetharam since he faced charges of illegal money transfer.

Speaking about the controversy, AICC spokesman and Supreme Court advocate Sanket Yenagi said the Congress party has to create special opportunities for competent, well-educated, passionate and dedicated youth.

Row over Rajya Sabha quota

Similarly, at the Centre, the Constitution allows for 12 nominated members to the Rajya Sabha, and there have been accusations that those who are favourable to the ruling parties in the states often get the nomination. In the past, those close to the CM or political dispensations including industrialists were nominated to the Rajya Sabha from respective states.

The government recently nominated musician V Vijayendra Prasad, a Telugu screenplay writer; Ilaiyaraaja, a musician; PT Usha, a track-and-field sports star; Veerendra Heggade, a philanthropist and spiritual leader, to the Rajya Sabha from southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. However, there were no objections.

Under Article 80 of the Constitution, the president of India nominates 12 members to the Council of States from among those who have special knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, art and social service.