Rajkhowa denies links with BJP, RSS

Itanagar, Feb. 1: Arunachal Pradesh governor J.P. Rajkhowa today denied harbouring any relations with the RSS or the BJP to stave off allegations of him acting in a partisan manner, which led to the imposition of President's rule in the state.

Speaking at a press conference at Raj Bhavan, where the governor did not take any questions, Rajkhowa said he had "never been part of any political party".

He also criticised news reports about the Raj Bhavan in Itanagar being used as a BJP and RSS headquarters in the run-up to the political crisis in the state.

The governor said the press must report freely without fear and should "not come under pressure of external forces".

Rajkhowa also claimed that there was "misinformation" regarding the contents of the reports which were submitted to the Supreme Court.

Last week, the Supreme Court had asked for the governor's report where he recommended imposition of President's rule on grounds that there was a complete breakdown of law and order.

It had been widely reported that Rajkhowa had cited the "slaughter of a cow" in front of the Raj Bhavan gate on December 17, after former chief minister Nabam Tuki lost a "floor test" at a special Assembly session held at a city hotel, to argue his case for central rule. The governor today said he had not mentioned cow slaughter anywhere in the report and that he "only mentioned a mithun".

Tuki's supporters had allegedly sacrificed a mithun in front of Raj Bhavan to express their opposition of Rajkhowa's order rescheduling the Assembly session where Tuki was "ousted" and Speaker Nabam Rebia was "impeached".

While Rajkhowa did not go into details of the report, he said President Pranab Mukherjee had acted on his own wisdom. "The President acted on his own wisdom after having gone through the reports," he said, adding that Mukherjee consulted several eminent legal experts and that he was privy to other information before consenting to the Union cabinet's recommendation.

Rajkhowa initially did not take any questions from reporters during the five-minute meet. However, he touched on queries raised by reporters on one of the terrace lawns at Raj Bhavan over tea and gulab jamuns.

"I am nobody's agent, never have been," the former Assam chief secretary said, and added, "I always act on my own conscience".

Refusing to go into details of the current political crisis, Rajkhowa said he wished for it to be over as soon as possible. But for that to happen, there had to be a stable government, unlike the situation that prevailed in the last several months, he added.

With 17 companies of paramilitary forces currently deployed here, security personnel have been on vigil, inspecting vehicles across Itanagar.

While Rajkhowa claimed that the situation in the state was completely under control, he said the common people must not be harassed.

His statement came at a time when the first effects of President's rule were being felt here.

The people have resented that the security personnel have been acting with high-handedness during routine inspections of vehicles.

An official statement said police and paramilitary officers were asked to exercise caution while conducting checks.