Panaji, Jul 17 (PTI) Outgoing Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai has said he would prefer to restart his practice as a lawyer once he is relieved of the charge.
During his tenure in Goa, handling tough issues with a smile was his way of functioning, Pillai said in an interview with PTI.
Veteran TDP leader and former Union minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju was on Monday appointed as the new governor of Goa, replacing Pillai.
The 70-year-old outgoing governor said it is in his mind to continue working as a lawyer when he goes back to his home state Kerala.
“That is why, I have not withdrawn my enrolment (as a lawyer),” said Pillai, who was a practising lawyer and two-time chief of the Kerala BJP unit before assuming the gubernatorial post in Mizoram in 2019 and later in Goa in 2021.
Asked would it not be odd to argue in courts after holding the post of governor, he said, “That is ego. Protocol-wise, the governor is fourth in the central list (Table of Precedence) while Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is sixth.” So, everybody says how can the governor go and practice in the court, he pointed out.
The court is a “temple of justice and whoever is sitting on the chair (judge) is important,” Pillai said.
“You should give respect to them (judges). Why should I be worried to call him (judge) Your Honour, there is nothing wrong in it,” he maintained.
Pillai said there is also no legal bar for a governor to practice as a lawyer after he is relieved from the post.
“I prefer that I should have my black coat and gown,” he commented.
Pillai further said he did not get an opportunity to visit Goa’s beaches during his four-year tenure as the governor when he travelled across all talukas of the coastal state as a part of his “gramin yatra”.
“I did not go to visit the beaches of Goa during my tenure, as if I go, I will be accompanied with seven-eight vehicles and all the protocol. That would result in inconvenience to visitors at the beaches,” he said.
Pillai said during his tenure as the Goa governor, he tried his level best to impose “less protocol” around him.
Asked about dealing with dissents in the state’s political circles, Pillai said whenever the opposition party members came to him with a grievance, he used to call the chief minister the next day over a cup of tea and discuss the issue.
Pillai said dealing with tough issues with a smile was his slogan.
“Whenever I had to take tough decisions, I would convince others (about it),” he added. PTI RPS GK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.