Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: The NDA government on Sunday transferred Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, who had a bitter relation with the then state chief minister Narendra Modi, to Mizoram, while Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva was given additional responsibility to discharge the functions of Gujarat Governor as well, sources at Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
Beniwal, 87, will take over from Vakkom Purushothaman. A major controversy had erupted between Beniwal and Narendra Modi when the Governor had appointed Justice (retd) RA Mehta as Lokayukta in 2011, without consulting the state government.
According to reports, Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman has also been shifted and has now being appointed as the Nagaland Governor. He will continue to hold additional charge as Tripura Governor as well.
NDA government today announced the new appointments after the Governors of the some states were reportedly asked to step down as they were appointed by the previous UPA government.
Announcing these changes, a Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said Governor of Gujarat is transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of her term.
Purushothaman is transferred and appointed as Governor of Nagaland for the remainder of his term, it said adding that he would also hold additional charge of the office of Governor of Tripura.
Alva, the Governor of Rajasthan would discharge the functions of governor of Gujarat, in addition to her own duties, until regular arrangements for the office of the governor of Gujarat are made.
Speculation were high that the NDA government will appoint new Governors before the budget session of Parliament starting from tomorrow in place of those who had quit.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Governor BL Joshi, Chhattisgarh Governor Shekhar Dutt and Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar had stepped down from their respective posts.
Later, after being quized by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials in the VVIP chopper deal, MK Narayanan (West Bengal) and BV Wanchoo (Goa) also had put in their papers.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj and Tripura Governor Devanand Konwar retired.
Bhardwaj was the Law Minister in UPA-I government while Konwar was a former Congress minister in Assam. Both were appointed as Governors of their respective states in 2009.
