Karnataka governor walks away even as national anthem plays

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala on Tuesday suffered a momentary lapse as he walked away halfway during a function at Raj Bhavan even as the national anthem was being played. When an aide rushed to him and reminded him that the anthem was still playing, the governor returned to the dais.

After administering the oath of office to Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan as judge of the Karnataka High Court at a brief ceremony in the Durbar Hall of Raj Bhavan, Vala was seen walking away even as the national anthem was being played instrumentally.

When an aide rushed towards Vala and reminded him that the national anthem was being played to mark the end of the ceremony, the 77-year-old veteran Gujarat leader returned to the dais and stood along with Karnataka High Court Chief Justice D.H. Waghela, Justice Chauhan and state chief secretary Kaushik Mukherjee.

"It was not intentional but happened on the spur of the moment. The governor did not mean any disrespect to the national anthem and he returned to the dais immediately after he was told about it," a state official, who was present at the ceremony, told IANS.

President Pranab Mukherjee recently transferred Justice Chauhan to Karnataka from Rajasthan High Court.

There was no communique from Raj Bhavan or the state government on the governor's momentary lapse.