Krishna Kant Paul was sworn in as the sixth Governor of Uttarakhand on Thursday. He was administered the oath of office by High Court Chief Justice VK Bisht at a function held at the Raj Bhawan lawns.
Among others, Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, Opposition leader Ajay Bhatt, several Cabinet Ministers, MPs and MlAs and a host of senior Government officials, including Chief Secretary N Ravishankar and Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Sharma, were present. Paul has taken over from Aziz Qureshi who was appointed the Governor of Mizoram.
In his brief address, Paul said he will maintain the highest traditions of his post by keeping guard on democratic values. "Rising to your expectations is my foremost responsibility which is both inspiring and challenging. However, I will try my level best to fulfil this obligation to the best of my ability," he said. Prior to assuming the gubernatorial charge here, he had served many States like Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram as Governor.
The State is known for its intellectual worth, aside from being a repository of rich traditions. "I am proud of being here as its first citizen," he said. "The State enjoys ample opportunities and vast potential," he added. He said the State Government is working to use them in full. Stressing on peace and harmony, he said they are required for development. "To achieve this, we will have to maintain optimum transparency and highest standards of responsibility as well," he said.
"The State being prone to natural calamity, we will have to be more alert and vigilant. While executing the rehabilitation projects in the disaster- affected areas, we will have to strike a balance between environment and local needs," he said.
After the ceremony, the Governor was given a guard of honour by 11 Sikh light Infantry division of the Indian Army. A former IPS officer, Paul won a number of medals during his illustrious stint as a policeman.