New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday counselled Governors to “remain alert” ahead of the Lok Sabha election and ensure that the exercise of the right of suffrage is “peaceful and conducive to free expression of the will of the people.”

Addressing the 45th Conference of Governors at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mr. Mukherjee advised the 26 Governors and three Lt. Governors attending the two-day meet to ensure that State governments act according to the Constitution.

The President’s words come close on the heels of a tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government and L-G Najeeb Jung. The AAP called Mr. Jung a “Congress agent” after he decided to seek legal advice on whether the Delhi government can ask the Assembly to consider the Jan Lokpal Bill without prior approval of the Union Home Ministry.

Urging the constitutional heads of the States to uphold their position, the President said they have the unique responsibility of being the bridge between the Centre and States. He advised them to spend more time touring the States to closely monitor the implementation of the Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and ensure that tribal people in Scheduled Areas benefit from it. Measures to strengthen Autonomous District Councils and extend certain features of the Panchayati Raj institutions should also be considered, he added.

Mr. Mukherjee also called upon the Governors to be “proactive as Chancellors” and take up the cause of higher education to bring excellence in State institutions.

The President also called for effective implementation of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 as India is among the most disaster-prone countries in the world. About 58.6 per cent of India’s land mass is susceptible to earthquakes; over 40 million hectares (12 per cent of land) is prone to floods; 68 per cent of the cultivable area is susceptible to drought; and 5,700km of the 7,516km coast line is prone to cyclones.