Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 22: The Government of India on Tuesday took a great political decision. It appointed some new Governors and shifted some from one state to another. Satya Pal Malik, presently Governor of Bihar, was appointed Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, thus ending Governor NN Vohra's 10 years and two months stay in the state. Governor NN Vohra is the longest serving Governor. He had taken over as the constitutional head of Jammu & Kashmir on June 25, 2008. He was appointed by the Manmohan Singh's Government. In 2013, he was given another term of 5 years, which ended on June 2018. NN Vohra will continue until Satya Pal Malik took over as Jammu & Kashmir Governor. Malik will be the second politician who was appointed as the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir after Karan Singh (1965-67). Malik has been active in politics since 1970s. He is not considered a career BJP-RSS man. He joined the BJP only ahead of 2014 elections.
Soon after his appointment as the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik hinted at his priorities in the state. "Winning the confidence of the people of Jammu & Kashmir and addressing the issues concerning regional imbalances will be the top priority for Satya Pal Malik," he was quoted as saying.
"It is a challenging job. The basic challenge is to win the confidence of the people of the state," newly-appointed Jammu & Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said. He also added: "The Prime Minister has always been serious about Jammu & Kashmir regarding its development as well as about the regional imbalances across three regions. He has always been with them in crisis. During floods, he supported Kashmir like anything":
"My mandate is to meet people's expectations and to address the imbalance among the regions," Malik further said, adding that "he would get an update on the issues soon after he takes over".
The newly appointed Governor identified the regional imbalance issue, which has been one of the key themes of BJP politics in the state, as one of his priorities.
The prominent politician, who was been associated with former Prime Ministers Charan Singh and V P Singh, also suggested that the appointment of a political person as Governor of Jammu & Kashmir was a signal that the Narendra Modi Government was underlining the primacy of people's concerns. "The signal is that the Governor should be of the people," Malik said when asked as to "what was the Centre's message in the appointment of a politician as the Governor of the state".
Satya Pal Malik will take over as the Governor of the state when it has been under the Governor's Rule after Mehbooba Mufti resigned on June 19 following the collapse of the PDP-BJP alliance in the state. The Governor rule was imposed on June 20. |
