The Role of Governor and Article 356

Article 356 of the Constitution was one of the most keenly debated and discussed in the Constituent Assembly. In the words of Dr. Ambedkar "such articles will never be called into operation and that they would remain a dead letter". The Founding Fathers apprehended that, if and when it would be misused, it would violate not merely the federal character of the polity envisaged by them but also make a mockery of democratic principles. It seems that they were very much sure that the provision of the article would not be used to strengthen the corporative federalism but it would be used in resolving the ministerial crisis in the State.2 As observed by Shiban Lai Saksena "I feel that by these articles we are reducing the autonomy of the States to a farce. These articles will reduce the State Governments to great subservience to the Central Government".