Chennai: Amid the ongoing political turmoil in the state, Tamil Nadu finally has its full time governor Banwari Lal Purohit, more than a year after K. Rosaiah retired.
The appointment was announced by President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday morning.
After Rosaiah’s retirement in August 2016, Maharashtra governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao had an additional charge of Tamil Nadu and there have been growing demands from the opposition parties in the state for a permanent governor.
Rao, the longest serving acting governor of Tamil Nadu has sworn in two chief ministers in between the state’s political churn. Rao administered the oath of office to O. Panneerselvam and his cabinet just hours after the death of J. Jayalalithaa on 5 December, last year.
The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) was vertically split after Panneerselvam rebelled against the then general secretary of the party V.K. Sasikala, the chief ministerial ambitions of Sasikala were crushed after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the disproportionate assets case.
Meanwhile, governor Rao administered the oath of office to Edappadi K. Palaniswami as the state witnessed its third chief minister in less than three months. And, along with the appointment of the new cabinet, came the order of floor test from the governor which was won by Palaniswami.
Subsequently, after the merger of the factions led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam—who was sworn in as deputy CM, and sidelining of Sasikala and her nephew T.T.V Dhinakaran in August, the Raj Bhavan in Chennai was again a witness to another fresh demand for a floor test when 19 MLAs withdrew support to the CM.
But, this time Rao termed it as “an internal party affair” and refused to act, which drew much flak as opposition parties accused the governor of delaying the next move during a “constitutional crisis.”
Also read: Tamil Nadu: Governor’s indecisiveness and Election Commission’s silence
While the opposition parties in the southern state claimed that he was failing to uphold his “constitutional obligations and moral responsibility”, leader of the opposition and working president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) M.K. Stalin had said: “The governor is indulging in politics. We have been saying from the beginning that the Union government is behind everything that is happening in Tamil Nadu.”
With governor failing to call for a trust vote, the DMK moved the Madras HC. As batches of petitions are lying at the HC related to the current political crisis in the state, the court extended its earlier stay on holding a floor test in the Tamil Nadu assembly until further orders. The next hearing would come up on 4 October.
Also read: Madras HC: No floor test until further orders; no elections to 18 constituencies
Apart from Tamil Nadu, President Kovind also made new governor appointments to Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, on Saturday.
Satya Pal Malik, former lawmaker and BJP’s national vice president, is the new Bihar Governor. Interestingly, the post had fallen vacant with the appointment of Kovind to the top post. Ganga Prasad, who is a former member of Bihar’s Legislative Council, was appointed as the governor of Meghalaya and Brig (retired) B.D. Mishra will take charge as governor of Arunachal Pradesh, an official release by Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
Additionally, Professor Jagdish Mukhi has been appointed as the new governor of Assam.
“The above appointments will take effect from the dates the incumbents assume charge of their respective offices,” the release added.
The president also appointed Admiral (Retd.) Devendra Kumar Joshi as the lieutenant governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in place of Prof. Jagdish Mukhi.
Anuja in New Delhi contributed to the story