NEW DELHI: The controversial Nagaland Governor Mr. M.M. Thomas was dismissed from his post on Saturday night following & Presidential notification. The notification said that Mr. Thomas has ceased to hold office and the Assam Governor Mr. Lok Nath Mishra would hold additional charge as Governor of Nagaland till alternate arrangements are made.

The extreme action against Mr. Thomas was taken following his persistent defiance of instructions from the Center including those from the President Mr. R. Venkatraman.

Mr. Thomas who is a close confidante of the former railway minister Mr. George Fernandes was appointed by the National front government.

The dismissal of Mr. Thomas followed a strong letter sent by the Union Home Minister Mr. S.B. Chavan to the Prime Minister Mr Narasimha Rao.

The letter which was not prepared by the Intelligence Bureau had strongly indited the Governor and was an indication that the Centre was contemplating serious action against him.

Mr. Thomas in a debatable action earlier this morning had accepted the recommendation of the Vamuzo minister to dissolve the State assembly. It was well known that the Vamuzo cabinet had made the recommendation of the Supreme Court ruling in which the fate of 15 “disqualified” for Congress MLAs was to be deeded.

The Governor did not inform the Centre before accepting the recommendation and did not provide any opportunity to the opposition party the Congress (I) despite its aim to form the government.

In his latest controversial stand Mr. Thomas had declined to sack the Chief Secretary Mr. S.S Ahluwalia despite instructions from the Home Ministry as well as the President.

Some of his actions in the past had also come in for criticism. In one of his controversial decisions he had dismissed the Congress government led by Mr. S.C Jamir in 1990. He had not provided any chance to Mr. Jamir to prove his strength in the State assembly while he gave 30 days to Mr. K.L. Chishi of the Naga Peoples Council (NPC) to prove his strength.

The Chishi government however could not last even one month and resigned before facing the trial of strength.

The Home Minister Mr. S.B. Chavan in a confidential letter to the Prime Minister Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao has accused the Nagaland Governor Mr. M.M Thomas of “dereliction of duty” and being “sympathetic” towards the insurgency movement in the area encouraged by a super power.

The serious charges according to reliable sources have been leveled against Mr. Thomas following his controversial stand on dissolution of the state assembly and refusal to initiate criminal proceeding against the state chief secretary Mr. S.S Ahhuwalia despite clear instructions from the Centre.

The three-page letter based on a note drafted by the Intelligence Bureau has said that some of the actions of the Governor were not in tune with the constitutional provisions. It has said that Mr. Thomas had been acting in an arbitrary manner” and had been disregarding the instructions of the Center the sources added.

Mr. Thomas a trusted lieutenant of former railways minister Mr. George Fernandes was appointed Governor of Nagaland when the V.P. Singh government was in power. Some of his actions pertaining to blatant discrimination against the Congress had attracted severe criticism.

The letter quoting Intelligence Bureau has pointed out that Mr. Thomas was “sympathetic” towards insurgent movements encouraged by a super power and that he was “partial” towards Christian missionaries which had been leading to communal tensions in the region.

Mr. Chavan the sources add had also complained to the Prime Minister that Mr. Thomas had not been carrying out the duties required of him during the Presidents Rule. The letter of Mr. Chavan is being seen as a prelude to transfer Mr. Thomas or to initiate some other action.

Meanwhile Mr. Ahluwalia who has obtained a stay order from the Kohima bench of the High Court has been appointed principal secretary in the Nagaland Governor and a comparatively junior officer has been appointed the chief secretary.

Article extracted from this publication >> April 24, 1992