NEW DELHI: The Chief Minister of Haryana, Devi Lal has written to the President R. VenKataraman, strongly protesting against the “unbecoming conduct” of the Punjab Governor, Siddharth Shankar Ray, in making “tendentious and wholly unjustified insinuations” against him Devi Lal, who released copies of his letter | urged the President to take appropriate action against Ray. In a separate statevi Lal expressed the hope it the President would recall ‘y from Punjab and uphold the ‘Constitution. Ray had committed constitutional impropriety by interfering in the administration of a neighboring State, he said. Ray’s letter to Devi Lal on August 30 taking exception to the Haryana leaders call to people to Stop trains and make the bandh a success had, coming as it did close on the heels of the Home Minister, Buta Singh’s telephone call to Devi Lal on the eve of the bandh on the same lines showed the “ill intentions” to the Congress (I) and the Central Government, the Haryana Chief Minister said.

Ray also alleged that the Haryana Chief Minister had deliberately assisted in the violation of constitutional rights of Indian citizens resident in Punjab who had not been allowed free movement through Haryana on August 30.

In his letter to the President, Devi Lal charged the Punjab Governor with exceeding the ambit of his functions under the Constitution of India. He has leveled

baseless and totally unjustified allegations and insinuations against me and the Haryana Government, he wrote to the President two days ago. Devi Lal maintained that the Haryana Government under his stewardship was functioning entirely in accordance with the Constitution of India.

The Haryana Chief Minister alleged at the news conference that Ray’s letter was part of a pattern which established that the intention of the ruling party was dishonest. He condemned the attempts of the Congress I to topple his government and said, “It is not my government which will fall but Rajiv Gandhi’s.

Ray had written to Devi Lal on the day of the bandh taking exception to the inconvenience caused to bus passengers who were stopped in Haryana. He had also objected to the statements made by the Haryana Chief Minister calling upon youth to stop trains by pulling the chains and offering a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to those who died in the bandh activities.

Devi Lal said Ray had failed to make a distinction between the role of a national political leader and a State Chief Minister. The man who had called for the youth to participate in the bandh was a national leader of the Janata Dal and the man who had tried to maintain law and order on the bandh performed his duty as a Chief Minster, he said.

The Haryana Chief Minister charged the governor or Punjab with committing a constitutional impropriety by interfering in the administration of a neighboring State and by publicity maligning the duly elected Government there,

Devi Lal said that Rays letter to him was an attempt to divert people’s attention from his own failure on the law and order front in Punjab.

Devi Lal said he took strong exception to Ray’s statement about the Bharat bandh that the people had rejected “disruption, indiscipline and chaos.”

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 29, 1989