BHUBANESWAR: Bihar governor
Satya Pal Malik received additional charge of
Odisha as incumbent S C Jamir completed his five-year term on Tuesday.
"President Kovind directs Shri Satya Pal Malik,
governor of Bihar, to discharge the functions of governor of Odisha, in addition to his own duties, following the completion of the tenure of Shri S C Jamir," tweeted the President's office.
Sources said Malik would take over from Wednesday. Appointed governor of Bihar in September last year, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Aligarh in 1989. He was also a member of the
Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh during 1980-86 and 1986-1992.
Jamir, 87, executed his gubernatorial duties without fanfare. However, he made news when he refused to okay the Odisha Police Bill, 2015, which envisioned fixed terms for the DGP and other key police posts and which was passed by the assembly in August that year in the absence of any opposition member. The MLAs of Congress and BJP had staged a walkout to protest against the controversial bill.
The governor refused to give his assent after Congress submitted a memorandum to him, saying it would be undemocratic to pass the bill in the absence of the opposition. It is yet to be reintroduced in the assembly.
Jamir also returned the
Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016, passed by the assembly in September 2016. He had asked the government to reconsider provisions of the bill. This bill, too, is yet to be reintroduced.
A five-time chief minister of Nagaland, Jamir has been governor of Maharashtra (2008-2010) and Goa (2004-2008), besides holding additional charge of Gujarat (July-November 2009).
Sources said Malik would take over from Wednesday
