Asking governors to rise above partisan politics, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday reminded them that people have great expectations from them in these 'turbulent times'.
Governors could also act as watchdogs and alert the state and central governments on security threats, Dr Singh said addressing a two-day governors' conference in New Delhi.
Removed from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day activities, Dr Singh said, governors are well placed to assess long-term trends and utilise their wisdom to aid governments in their actions.
The prime minister also bluntly told states to look at issues like sharing of waters, minerals and electricity with a national perspective instead of treating them as local problems.
"There is perhaps no other constitutional office that enjoys the autonomy and carries the attendant responsibility as does that of the governor. In these turbulent times we are living in, people have great expectations from this office," he said.
Singh's remarks come a day after President A P J Abdul Kalam, in an apparent disapproval of the role of some governors during political crises, asked the incumbents to rise above day-to-day politics and not nurture political affiliations, warning that such a tendency would lead to their isolation.
The prime minister told governors that while discharging their duties, "you are the sole judges of what is right and wrong; of what is in larger national interest and what is not; and, what do people perceive your actions to be.
