Governor M. Rama Jois Resigns Before Being Asked to Step Down
Patna: October
28, 2004
Bihar Governor M. Rama Jois, on Thursday, tendered his resignation in a faxed letter to the President asking him to relieve him from his duties effective November 1 thus marking an end to the 16-month term that seldom saw eye to eye with the Lalu-Rabri-led Rashtriya Janata Dal government in the state.
Jois' resignation came just days after reports surfaced in the media that the Sonia Gandhi-led UPA government was putting pressure on the President to get rid of all those Governors who were appointed by the former NDA government and were considered part of the Sangh Parivar.
Jois is the second NDA-appointed Governor to quit in less than a week after the Rajasthan Governor Madan Lal Khurana resigned from his post just a few days ago.
The Governor and the RJD government have had several conflicts over issues ranging from the appointment of Vice Chancellors and Bihar Public Service Commission chairman to the deteriorating law and order situation. Earlier this year during his Republic Day speech at Patna's Gandhi Maidan, the Governor slammed the Rabri government for failing to check crime in the state saying a sense of terror and fear had enveloped the state and people from other states were afraid to send their children to Bihar for educational or excursion purposes.
RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav fired back at Jois saying his comments damaged the prestige of the Governor's office and violated the basic tenets of the Constitution. Calling him a BJP stooge, Yadav had vowed to get rid of him at the earliest convenience.
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