The BJP will have a hard time assimilating the judgement of the Supreme Court restoring the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh. No matter how many times it reads the order, the conclusion will be the same. If there is a lesson for the Central government it is, stop using the governor to overthrow hostile state governments. This is the second slap to the Narendra Modi government, the first having been delivered by the court in the Uttarakhand crisis. In both cases, the BJP got pro-active and used the governor to overthrow a democratically elected government. And in both cases the Supreme Court stepped in to restore constitutional order. The five-member bench was also highly critical of Governor J P Rajkkhowa and sent a strong message to all governors that they have to shut their eyes to political imbroglios, horse-trading as long as the chief minister enjoys a majority. The swiftness with which the Supreme Court gave its ruling in both cases will put the brakes on any misadventure by the Centre in the future. More importantly, governors will no longer have a fig leaf to hide behind. The court rightly, emphasized that the only time a governor can intervene is if the council of ministers loses confidence of the House. This is by far, the best definition of the role of the governor and the Centre would do well to adhere to it.
