A Governor Says He's Not Hurt by Call to Quit. But He's Not Complying Either.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan said today that he got not one but two phone calls from the new government asking him to resign, but said he remains unpersuaded.

The calls were made by Home Secretary Anil Goswami, the 81-year-old governor said, adding, that he was "not offended or hurt" by the request that he surrender the remaining three years of his term.

"I wouldn't say it's a witch hunt," he told reporters in Mumbai, but said, "I will think if I should resign if I get it in writing from a proper channel."

Mr Sankaranarayanan is in a league of 12 governors who Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has short-listed for removal because they were appointed by Dr Manmohan Singh's government which was decimated in the national election. The new BJP government wants to replace them with appointees of its own choosing. Two governors - BL Joshi from Uttar Pradesh and Shekhar Dutt from Chhattisgarh - have resigned. (In Government Moves Against UPA Appointees, Another Governor Resigns) Most of the others have indicated they will not oblige.

"How many times do I have to say I have not resigned," snapped JB Patnaik, the Governor of Assam.

Yesterday, West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan said "I have not resigned yet", a statement that failed to dispel speculation that he will do so shortly.

The Congress, which anchored the UPA coalition, says the BJP's revisionist urge amounts to political vendetta and that the government is violating a four-year-old Supreme Court verdict which said that a "change in government at the Centre is not a ground for removal of Governors holding office to make way for others favoured by the new government." (Opinion: Why Governors Are In BJP's Firing Line)