Tamil Nadu BJP Chief, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, and Former Union ministers Arif Mohammad Khan and Bandaru Dattatreya are among the five new governors appointed by President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday, 1 September.
New governors were announced for the states of Telangana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Dattatreya has been appointed for Himachal Pradesh, replacing the present governor Kalraj Mishra.
Mishra, meanwhile, has been asked to take up the governor’s mantle for Rajasthan, replacing Kalyan Singh.
“I am thankful to PM Narendra Modi as well as Home Minister Amit Shah. They have given this responsibility to me as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh and I will work as per the Constitution”, Dattatreya told ANI.
A former civil aviation minister, Arif Mohammad Khan took over as Governor of Kerala, replacing P Sathasivam, a former chief justice of India.
“It's an opportunity to serve. Fortunate to be born in a country like India which is so vast and rich in diversity. It's a great opportunity for me to know this part of India, which forms boundary of India and is called god's own country”, Khan told ANI.
Soundararajan has been appointed as the governor of Telangana, which was until recently under the dual charge of ESL Narasimhan, who was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh before its bifurcation. She was appointed Tamil Nadu BJP chief in 2014 and has contested and lost in two Assembly elections and two parliamentary elections in the state.
“My most sincere thanks to Shri Narendra Modiji for giving me an opportunity to serve as Governor of Telangana. My sincere thanks to Amit Shah and for all those who have been supportive to me in my political career. I feel this as an opportunity to serve the nation,” said Soundararajan in a tweet.
Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been appointed governor for Maharashtra which is scheduled to have its state polls this year.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
(With inputs from PTI)
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