The Centre on Tuesday appointed Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik as new Governor of militancy-hit Jammu & Kashmir and replaced him by veteran BJP leader lalji Tandon as Governor of Bihar. Bihar BJP leader Satyadev Naryan Arya and former Agra Mayor Baby Rani Maurya have been appointed as Governors of Haryana and Uttarakhand respectively.
Kaptan Singh Solanki, the Governor of Haryana, has been transferred to Tripura and the current Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy has been sent to Meghalaya. Ganga Prasad, the Governor of Meghalaya, has been transferred to Sikkim, said a Rashtrapati Bhavan communiqué.
Former Central Minister Satya Pal Malik’s appointment as Jammu & Kashmir Governor came as a surprise as several retired senior army officers and former Home Secretaries, including CAG Rajiv Mehrishi, were seen as front runners. Malik was a Minister of State in then VP Singh Government, handling Parliamentary Affairs.
The 72-year-old Malik will be the first career politician to be appointed as Governor of the restive State after Karan Singh, who held the post from 1965 to 1967. Before this, Singh was Sadar-e-Riyasat after the State was made part of Indian union.
Malik was also a Rajya Sabha MP for two terms and a lok Sabha MP from 1989 to 1990. Malik was also a Member of Uttar Pradesh Assembly from 1974 to 1977. In his political career, he has also been the chairman and member of many parliamentary committees.
His appointment ends the over 10-year tenure of Vohra, who took over the reins of the State on June 25, 2008, at a difficult time when Jammu & Kashmir was facing the Amarnath agitation.
Malik, who has been associated with Bhartiya Kranti Dal, lok Dal, Congress and Janata Dal and the BJP during his political career, will be heading the administration of the State.
Eighty-three-year-old Tandon, BJP stalwart and a confidant of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was a key negotiator when the BJP formed Government with Mayawati. He had to face criticism in the infamous sari distribution tragedy in 2004 that claimed lives of 21 women and a child.
BJP leader from Agra and member of Uttar Pardesh Juvenile Justice Board Baby Rani Maurya has been appointed as the Governor of Uttarakhand, where former Delhi Police Commissioner KK Paul completed his tenure.
Arya, an eight-term MlA in Bihar, was also a Minister in the 2010 BJP-JDU Government in the State. He has been appointed as new Haryana Governor. Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki has been transferred to Tripura, replacing Tathagata Roy who has been transferred to Meghalaya, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said.