Rupesh Samant
Panaji: Outgoing Goa Governor P. S. Sreedharan Pillai has said that he would prefer to restart his profession as a lawyer once he is relieved from office.
Pillai has been replaced by Ashok Gajapati Raju as the new Governor of the coastal state. The Governor said that it is in his mind to resume legal practice once he returns to Kerala.
“That is why I have not withdrawn my enrolment (as a lawyer). It is suspended,” said Pillai, who was a practising lawyer and two-time chief of the BJP unit in Kerala before taking over as the Governor of Mizoram in 2019 and later Goa in 2021.
When asked whether it would not be odd to argue in court after holding the post of Governor, Pillai replied,
“That is ego—thinking one should not go to court after being a Governor. Protocol-wise, the Governor is fourth in the Central list (Table of Precedence) while the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is sixth,” the 70-year-old leader said.
“So, everybody says how can the Governor go and practice in court,” he added.
Pillai said that the court is a “Temple of Justice, and whoever is sitting on the chair (Judge) is important.”
“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 said.
He also clarified that there is no legal bar preventing a Governor from practising law after completing their tenure.
“I prefer that I should have my black coat and gown,” he commented.
Speaking further, Pillai said that he did not get the opportunity to visit Goa’s beaches during his four-year-long tenure, during which he travelled across all talukas as part of his Gramin Yatra.
“I did not visit the beaches of Goa during my tenure. If I go, I’ll be accompanied by 7–8 vehicles and full protocol, which would inconvenience other visitors,” he said.
Pillai noted that he had always tried to keep protocol requirements around him to a minimum.
When asked about dealing with political dissent in Goa, the Governor said that whenever opposition parties approached him with grievances, he would call the Chief Minister over for tea the next day and discuss the issue.
He said his approach to governance was simple: “Dealing with tough issues with a smile was my slogan. Whenever I had to take tough decisions, I would convince others (about them),” he said.
