Ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, the Centre on Saturday appointed senior BJP leader Ram Nath Kovind as the new Governor of the State prompting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to maintain that he was not consulted as had been the precedent so far and that he got to know about it only through the media. His party, JD(U), termed it an “attempt to destabilise the Bihar Government”.
The Centre also appointed Acharya Dev Vrat as the Himachal Pradesh Governor. 56-year-old Vrat has been working as the Principal in a gurukul in Haryana’s Kurukshetra since 1981.Nitish said precedent has it that the Central Government and the Home Minister talk to the State Government and its Chief Minister on the issue. “This time there is no consultation. I have also got the information (about the appointment) through media,” Kumar said when reporters asked him about the appointment of Kovind.
Kumar was in the national capital holding discussions with migrants from Bihar with an eye on the polls later this year. Nitish said his experience and his knowledge of precedents so far tell him that Chief Ministers are consulted before any such appointment. Sources, however, said that this is nothing new as the UPA regime too had not informed Nitish when Devanand Konwar was appointed the Governor in 2009.
But in a Press statement, JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi said, “Such steps taken by the Central Government is nothing but an attempt to gain instantaneous political mileage. The Central Government is trying to destabilise the Bihar Government. Janata Dal(U) condemns such malicious practices of the Central Government.” Tyagi also recalled that BJP members in Parliament were on Friday demanding President’s Rule in Bihar.“JD(U) will hold talks with other Opposition parties on Monday and would also demand for discussion in Parliament against the steps by the Government to destablise the system of cooperative federalism. The Central Government is also trying to create Constitutional instability even in other States like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam,” he alleged.
69-year-old Kovind, who had been a two-time Rajya Sabha member between 1994 and 2006, hails from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. West Bengal Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi was holding additional charge of Bihar. A lawyer by profession, Kovind had also been BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha chief.As for Vrat, he imparts modern and traditional education through the ‘gurukul’. The institution is run by Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Rohtak, Haryana, without any financial aid from the Government, its website says.
56-year-old Vrat has been working as Principal in the gurukul since 1981. His specialisations listed by the website are good communication skills and convincing power, especially with regards to Vedic culture and its ideology.He has been a recipient of American Medal of Honor awarded by American Biographical Institute towards selfless dedication in the field of social service.The appointments will take effect from the dates the incumbents assume charge of their respective offices, a Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué stated. Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh was holding the additional charge of Himachal Pradesh.