Before moving to Maharashtra as Governor Ramesh Bais hid the fact that the recommendation of the Election Commission of India( ECI) in the office-of-profit allegation against the CM was not in favour of disqualifying Hemant Soren.

So Bais preferred to praise CM Soren saying, he is a “very good leader”. He also said he did not share the ECI’s letter containing an opinion in the office-of-profit “allegation against the CM”.

Taking, what appears to be a smart narration made by him, he meant to say today that he “did not want to destabilise the government”. 

Face to face with the media for the first time since the political crisis cropped up in Jharkhand, Bais emphasised that since the uncertainty started, “the state government had been on a war footing doing developmental work.”

Investigations revealed that Governor Bais, who has been moved to Maharashtra, preferred to keep secret   EC’s opinion since August. Today he said, had the EC recommended Soren’s disqualification and the Governor acted on it, it would have led to political instability in Jharkhand. The EC’s communication to the Governor is confidential.

Truth is, the ECI’s opinion sought by Governor Bais was learnt to have been examined by senior lawyers of the BJP-led government and thereafter its high command took the decision not to disqualify Soren as an MLA as they concluded that “this will not stand on a judicial platform.”

However, Governor Bais used his own words to say this.“I have seen Jharkhand getting destabilised several times in the past…I did not want uncertainty and this is why I did not share the EC’s recommendation. I had also communicated to CM Hemant Soren that he should instead focus on his work.” 

Further, he pointed out that no matter what this EC’s letter implied, the Soren government has started developmental work, which did not happen before.

In fact, after the President announced on Sunday that Bais met ailing Shibu Soren, father of CM Hemant Soren.

Notably, before he was moved to Maharashtra as Governor, two former Chief Election Commissioners (CECs) said it was unprecedented and unethical that he had not made the EC opinion public till now. 

Former CEC O P Rawat said “this does not have any precedent” while former CEC S Y Quraishi termed the action “unethical”.

Under Article 192 of the Constitution, the Governor’s decision is final and before giving any such decision “the Governor shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to such opinion”.