Mumbai: Gujarat Governor Om Prakash Kohli sworn in as the new governor of Maharashtra on Sunday at Raj Bhawan in Mumbai. Kohli has been given the additional charge of Maharashtra after K Sankaranarayanan resigned after he was transferred to Mizoram by the Narendra Modi government.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, their cabinet colleagues, leaders of the opposition and other political parties, judges and other top dignitaries attended Kohli's swearing-in ceremony. He was administered the oath of office by Bombay High Court Chief Justice Mohit S Shah.
The Congress has slammed the government and accused them of conducting a witch-hunt. Senior party leader Manish Tewari said, "Its a very unfortunate incident. The way respected people are being ill-treated, BJP doesn't believe in any tradition. It doesn't know how to respect people."
Sankaranarayanan sent his resignation letter to President Pranab Mukherjee after he was transferred to Mizoram. He refused to divulge more details on his resignation saying, "I have to honour the Constitution."
He added, "It is not possible for me to go to Mizoram. I have sent my resignation to the President today. From tomorrow onwards, I will be a free man."
Sankaranarayanan, who is also a senior Congress leader, will return to active politics. He said, "As Governor, I was not in politics. I had friendly relations with every political party."
If Sankaranarayanan's resignation is accepted, he would become the sixth Governor, appointed by the previous UPA regime to step down after change of power at the helm. Sankaranarayanan was appointed as the Mizoram Governor after Kamala Beniwal was sacked by the Union government earlier this month.
Sankaranarayanan thanked the people of Maharashtra for the support they extended to him during his tenure.
Sankaranarayanan was among the first batch of governors telephoned by Home Secretary Anil Goswami to put in their papers after change of government at the Centre.
In an apparent bid to ease him out, the government shunted him to Mizoram after he had refused to quit.
A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique issued late last night had said that Sankaranarayanan has been shifted to Mizoram and Gujarat Governor OP Kohli has been asked to discharge his duties.
He has been serving as Governor of Maharashtra since January 22, 2010. He took oath as Governor of Maharashtra for a second time on May 7, 2012 after the President granted him a fresh term of five.
(With additional information from PTI)
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