Respect for SCs, OBCs and Tribals, representation to women, Jats and Muslims: PM Narendra Modi's choice of governors shows respect and dignity to all

In line with its mantra of ‘respect and dignity to all’, the Narendra Modi government has given proper representation to leaders from the SC, OBC and the Tribal communities in its gubernatorial assignments.

New Delhi: Amid intense speculations about the Union Cabinet expansion possibly this week, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre appointed eight new governors on Tuesday.

Union Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot was appointed Karnataka Governor and Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel was named as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique.

Gehlot, a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, is the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister. Patel, a BJP leader from Gujarat, will be the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, it said. It may be noted that Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel was holding an additional charge of Madhya Pradesh.

Besides this, on the recommendations of the Centre, President Ram Nath Kovind also approved the appointments of Hari Babu Kambhampati and Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as Governors of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh respectively.

BJP leader from Andhra Pradesh Kambhampati now succeeds P S Sreedharan Pillai, who has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Goa, the communique said.

Vishwanath Arlekar, BJP's leader from Goa and former Speaker, replaces Bandaru Dattatraya who has been transferred and appointed as Haryana Governor, it said. Satyadev Narayan Arya, Governor of Haryana is transferred and appointed as Governor of Tripura, the statement said.

Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Jharkhand, succeeding Droupadi Murmu, according to the communique. These appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices, it said. 

While all these appointments came amid reports of Union Cabinet reshuffle this week, the choice of Governors for eight states – a record number of SC, ST & OBC picks as well as representation for women, Muslims and the Jat community – also reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas.’

In line with its mantra of ‘respect and dignity to all', the Narendra Modi government has given proper representation to leaders from the SC, OBC and the Tribal communities in its latest gubernatorial assignments.

This time, leaders hailing from the SC, OBC and Tribal communities have been given preference in gubernatorial appointments, which includes Thawarchand Gehlot, who is among the BJP’s tallest SC leaders and ex-Cabinet Minister, Rajendra Arlekar, who has been given charge as Governor of Himachal Pradesh. He has represented Pernem in the Goa Assembly. 

Satyadev Narayan Arya will take charge as the Governor of Tripura. Baby Rani Maurya is currently serving as Uttarakhand Governor. Besides this, the Modi Government has picked a record number of women, Jat and Muslim community leaders as its top choices for the governor’s posts.

Currently, 3 Jat leaders are serving as governors - such respect shown by the Modi government to the Jat community is unparalleled, according to the political analysts.

Gubernatorial picks from SC communities

-Thaawarchand Gehlot, among the BJP’s tallest SC leaders and ex-Cabinet Minister, will now serve as the Governor of Karnataka.  

-Rajendra Arlekar will now become Governor of Himachal Pradesh. He has represented Pernem in the Goa Assembly.  

-Satyadev Narayan Arya, who will take charge as the Governor of Tripura. 

-Baby Rani Maurya is currently serving as Uttarakhand Governor.  

Governors from Tribal communities

-Mangubhai Patel, who will now be Governor of Madhya Pradesh is a long-standing leader of the tribal communities with years of political experience in Gujarat.  

-Anusuiya Uikey is serving as Governor of Chhattisgarh.

OBC governors appointed by the Modi govt

-Phagu Chauhan who belongs to the Lonia community is the Governor of Bihar.  

-Ramesh Bais will now become the Governor of Jharkhand. 

-Bandaru Dattatraya will be the Governor of Haryana after a stint in Himachal Pradesh.   

-Ganga Prasad Chaurasiya is Governor of Sikkim. 

-Tamilisai Soundararajan serves in Telangana with an additional charge of Puducherry.  

Governors from the Jat Community

It is, possibly for the first time in India’s history, that there are 3 currently Governors belonging to the Jat community. 

-Jagdeep Dhankar is in the politically crucial state of West Bengal. 

-Acharya Devvrat is Governor of PM Modi’s home state of Gujarat. 

-Satyapal Malik is serving as Meghalaya Governor.  

Two leading Muslim intellectuals as governors

-Arif Mohammad Khan is the Governor of Kerala.  

-Najma Heptulla is the Governor of Manipur. 

-Both are leading lights of the Muslim community.  

Two Telugu Governors

-The appointment of K Hari Babu (along with Bandaru Dattatraya) takes the number of Telugu leaders to 2 in the list of newly appointed Governors.  

Women governors appointed by Modi govt

Since 2014, eight women Governors and L-Gs have been appointed by the Modi government. This is in line with Prime Minister’s belief of empowering India’s “Nari Shakti.” 

Among those appointed since 2014 are: -

-Mridula Sinha 

-Draupadi Murmu - senior Tribal community leader  

-Najma Heptulla -  respected Muslim leader  

-Anandiben Patel – a powerful leader from Gujarat 

-Baby Rani Maurya - respected SC leader  

-Anusuiya Uikey - respected ST leader  

-Tamilsai Soundarajan - experienced OBC leader  

-Kiran Bedi – Former IPS officer 

Five out of the 8 women governors appointed by the Modi government belong to the SC, ST, OBC and Minority communities.

Let us also have a look at the women governors appointed by the previous governments: - 

-PM Jawaharlal Nehru - Sarojni Naidu, Padmaja Naidu, and Vijayalakshmi Pandit (Nehru’s own sister)  

-PM Morarji Desai: Sharda Mukherjee and Jothi Venkatachalam  

-PM Rajiv Gandhi: Kumudben Joshi, Ram Dulari Sinha, and Sarla Grewal.  

-PM VP Singh: Chandrawati  

-PM PV Narasimha Rao: Sheila Kaul and Rajendra Kumar Bajpai 

-PM HD Devegowda: Fathima Beevi 

-PM IK Gujral: VS Ramadevi  

-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Rajani Rai  

-Dr. Manmohan Singh: Pratibha Patil, Prabha Rau, Margaret Alva, Kamla Beniwal, Urmila Singh, and Shiela Dixit.