New Delhi: The BJP-led NDA government on Tuesday appointed four Governors and transferred two others, who had been appointed during the tenure of the previous UPA government. Vacancies, however, remain in Bihar, Assam, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh.
BJP national executive member V Shanmuganathan has been appointed as the Governor of Meghalaya. The Indian Express had reported on Sunday that Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a closed-door meeting and decided on the names of the Governors, which would be announced before the PM’s departure to China.
A Rashtrapati Bhawan comminuque said that Governor of Jharkhand Syed Ahmed, who was appointed in September, 2011, has been shifted to Manipur for the remainder of his term, that ends in September next year. BJP leader from Odisha Draupadi Murmu, 56, has been appointed as the new Governor of Jharkhand. She has been an active member of BJP and has contested many elections. She was an MLA from Odisha’s Rairangpur constituency in 2000.
Among other appointments, senior BJP leader from West Bengal Tathagata Roy has been appointed as Governor of Tripura. Roy had unsuccessfully contested from Kolkata Dakshin Lok Sabha constituency in 2014. Former Assam chief secretary J P Rakkhowa was appointed as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. A 1968-batch IAS officer, he has been involved in issues related to Northeast after his retirement.
Lt General (retd.) Nirbhay Sharma, who was serving as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh since May, 2011, has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his term, which ends in 2018.
Mizoram seems to have gained the notoriety of being the state given to Governors who were appointed during UPA rule. Sharma is the eighth Governor of Meghalaya to be appointed in last one year. Mizoram saw sacking of two Governors — Kamla Beniwal, who was the Gujarat Governor when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister, and Aziz Qureshi who has dragged NDA government to court for sacking the governors.
It began when V Purushothaman resigned after being transferred to Nagaland, saying he was not consulted over the move. After that, Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan refused to take over after being shifted to Mizoram. Former Union home secretary V K Duggal, former Delhi Police commissioner K K Paul have also held charge of Mizoram. West Bengal Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi was holding charge of the state till now.
