Governor Appointments

Bengal Guv cuts short personal visit, rushes to landslide-hit Darjeeling

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Monday cut short his personal visit to Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and rushed to landslide-hit Darjeeling, a senior official said. The toll in the devastating landslides in Darjeeling district has risen to 24, as disaster management personnel continued rescue operations on Monday, with several people still missing and thousands of tourists stranded in cut-off hill pockets. Bose would supervise the rescue operations and talk to the affected people, he said. "Governor Bose has flown back from Tirupati this morning and is heading towards Darjeeling. He will be visiting the landslide-affected areas in Mirik and supervising the rescue and rehabilitation efforts," the Raj Bhavan official told PTI. The governor is also coordinating with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and taking regular updates regarding the situation in Darjeeling, he said. Bose will also submit a report in the evening with specific recommendations to the competent .

Governors cannot examine legislative competence of bills: WB tells SC

The West Bengal government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the governor cannot examine the legislative competence of a bill passed by the assembly. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai was told by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for West Bengal, that since Independence there is hardly any example where the President has withheld a bill passed by Parliament because it is the will of the people. Advancing his argument before a bench also comprising Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, on the seventh day of hearing on the Presidential reference on whether the court could impose timelines for governors and President to deal with bills passed by state assemblies, Sibal submitted that legislative competence of a bill has to be tested in courts. "A legislation can be challenged in a court of law by citizens or by somebody else. It's in the rarest and rare case that a Governor says I cannot give assent to the bills and

Nagaland CM mourns Guv Ganesan's demise; Govt declares 7-day state mourning

The Chief Minister said the Governor's selfless service, calm leadership, and enduring devotion to justice and unity would be remembered

Law and order situation improved, under control in Manipur: Governor

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday asserted the overall law and order situation in the state has improved tremendously in recent months and it is stable and under control. The northeastern state, which is under President's Rule, has made remarkable progress across various sectors from social welfare, infrastructure development to economic empowerment, said Bhalla. He was addressing a gathering at Ist Manipur Rifles ground on the occasion of Independence Day. "The overall law and order situation in the state has improved tremendously and is stable and under control. Security forces continue extensive search operations and area domination activities in vulnerable and fringe areas across districts as well as check extortion and other criminal activities, the governor said. More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in the ethnic strife between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023 in Manipur. Despite the challenges of recent years, the state i

SC allows Kerala govt to withdraw pleas against guv over assent to bills

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Kerala government to withdraw its pleas against Governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar passed the order after senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the Kerala government, sought withdrawal of the plea and said the issue had turned infructuous in view of the recent judgment passed in the Tamil Nadu Governor case. Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the submission and urged the court to await the top court's decision on the reference of President under Article 143 of the Constitution over the grant of assent to bills. On April 22, the top court said it would examine whether the recent judgement on a plea of Tamil Nadu, fixing timelines for the grant of assent to bills, covered the issues raised by the Kerala government in its pleas. Acting on a plea of Tamil Nadu government, an apex court bench on April 8 set asi

Goa, Haryana get new governors, Kavinder Gupta named Lt guv of Ladakh

Professor Ashim Kumar Ghosh has been appointed as the governor of Haryana, and Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju has been named the governor of Goa

Centre opposes Kerala's stand in SC to withdraw case against Governor

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned to July 25 the pleas of the Kerala government against Governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar deferred the matter after attorney general R Venkataramani sought time. Senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the Kerala government, sought to withdraw the plea saying that the issue had become infructuous in view of the recent judgment passed in the Tamil Nadu Governor case. Venkataramani and solicitor general Tushar Mehta opposed the submission and urged the court to await the top court's decision on the reference of President under Article 143 of the Constitution over the grant of assent to bills. Mehta said the Kerala government's petition could also be referred to be tagged along with the presidential reference. Calling it strange , Venugopal asked how could his plea be opposed. "Why my lords are hesitant for the state to withdraw the petition? There has

West Bengal Guv Ananda Bose discharged from hospital, advised rest

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose was on Thursday morning discharged from a hospital where he underwent an intervention procedure, officials at the medical establishment said. Bose was discharged from the Kolkata-based private hospital nearly three weeks after he was admitted there on April 22 with shoulder pain. "Bose was admitted to the hospital with a complaint of shoulder pain after his hectic work during his field visit. On detailed examination, he was found to have mild coronary artery disease," the hospital said in a statement. "He (Bose) underwent an intervention procedure. He has been cooperative and responded well to the treatment. He was discharged from the hospital today. Now his oxygen saturation is at 100 per cent, and his blood pressure and blood glucose level are normal," it stated. The West Bengal governor has been advised to slow down his pace of work until the next reassessment, the statement added. On April 21, Bose was rushed to Kolkata's Eastern Command ..

SC says regulation of explicit content on OTT 'falls in executive's domain'

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih noted that the petition raised an important issue, which falls under the executive or legislative domain

SC to hear Kerala's pleas against Governor over delay in approving bills

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on May 6 the pleas of the Kerala government against the governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly. A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi took note of the submissions of senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the state government, that the verdict of another bench on the plea of Tamil Nadu covered the issues raised in the present petition. Venugopal said the judgement delivered by a bench headed by Justice J B Pardiwala framed guidelines and set timelines for governors and the President on granting assent to bills. What is the timeline for making a reference to the President by the governor and this issue is dealt with by that judgement, the senior lawyer said. We will look into that judgement and see whether issues raised here are covered, the bench said and fixed the pleas for further hearing on May 6. Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appeari

All views will be considered before final UGC guidelines come: Kerala Guv

Downplaying the Kerala government's criticism and opposition to the draft UGC guidelines, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday said everyone's views will be considered before a final version is released. Arlekar also said that India being a democracy, "everybody has the right to say anything over anything in this country and there was nothing wrong with it". The Kerala assembly had on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution urging the central government to withdraw the draft UGC guidelines and issue a revised version. Arlekar said that all the views about the UGC draft guidelines should go to the proper person or proper platform" and they will discuss it. "It is still a draft, not the final version. So, considering everybody's different views, they will come out with the final document," the Governor told reporters here after he called on former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan at his residence. Arlekar inquired Achuthanandan's family members about his health. He said

President appoints new Guvs for Kerala, Bihar, Odisha, Mizoram, Manipur

Former Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla has been appointed the governor of strife-torn Manipur, ex-Army chief Vijay Kumar Singh is the new Mizoram governor while Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has been shifted to Bihar as part of gubernatorial appointments effected by President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday. Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has been named the governor of Kerala in place of Khan, according to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Arif Mohammed Khan has been appointed as Bihar Governor, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement. President Murmu has accepted the resignation of Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, it said. Mizoram Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati has been appointed as the new Odisha Governor in place of Das, the statement said. These appointments will take effect from the dates they will assume charge of their respective offices, it added.

Shaktikanta Das: More hits than misses in six-year tenure as RBI governor

RBI became stronger, surer under Shaktikanta Das

Abolish Guv's post or appoint statured individuals by consensus: Singhvi

Amid growing instances of run-ins between governors and opposition-ruled state governments, senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi on Monday said the governor's post should either be abolished or a person of stature who is not into petty politics be appointed by consensus. Singhvi, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed from Telangana last week, also weighed in on the repeated standoffs between the Chair and the opposition in both Houses of Parliament and called for reforms to ensure the Chair is not partisan. In an interview with PTI, the four-time MP said a very big failing of this government is that it "demeaned, devalued and diminished" every institution and there were several instances of governors acting as a second chief executive or a "second sword in the same scabbard". "Either the governor's post be abolished or by consensus a person of stature who is not into petty politics be appointed," Singhvi asserted. "Will a person like Gopalkrishna Gandhi do such a thing? I

Prez calls Guvs Centre-state links; VP urges them to seek info from states

President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday said the governors are the link between the Centre and states in the federal system while Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said the governors should not hesitate in seeking information from the state governments. In her closing remarks at the two-day conference of the governors, Murmu said smooth functioning of all institutions is very important for public welfare and overall development. According to a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan, she said the discussions took place in the conference with the aim of creating better coordination among various institutions. "The governors are the link between the Centre and the states in the federal system of India," the statement said. President Murmu expressed confidence that cooperative federalism and mutual coordination of the central institutions will be promoted as per the suggestions given by the groups of governors. She said the governors are responsible for setting an ideal example for the

Former Raj min, BJP veteran Gulab Chand Kataria sworn in as Punjab governor

BJP veteran Gulab Chand Kataria was on Wednesday sworn in as the Governor of Punjab and Administrator Chandigarh. Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu administered the oath of office to Kataria at a ceremony in Raj Bhavan. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, former Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore and several Punjab ministers, including Harpal Singh Cheema and Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, were also present. The 79-year-old Kataria took the oath in Hindi. Kataria replaces Banwarilal Purohit, who tendered his resignation in February. Before being appointed as the Punjab governor, Kataria was the governor of Assam. Hailing from Udaipur, Kataria had served as Rajasthan home minister twice -- from 2004 to 2008 and 2015 to 2018--and had also served as Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly. The BJP veteran had also served as education, public works panchayati raj, rural development and disaster management minister. Kataria, a

News updates: Union Minister Kumaraswamy hospitalised in Bengaluru after nose starts bleeding

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Scrap institution of Guv or evolve system of appointment: Uddhav Thackeray

Without mincing words, Thackeray said that the trend of "activists of political parties or organisations like the RSS who are named as Governors" is lowering the dignity of this important post"

Former governor of Manipur La Ganesan sworn-in as Nagaland 21st Guv

La Ganesan was sworn-in as the Nagaland governor on Monday. Ganesan succeeded Prof Jagdish Mukhi, the Governor of Assam, who was holding additional charge of Nagaland from September 2021 to February 14 this year. He becomes the 21st governor of the poll-bound north eastern state. Assembly election in Nagaland is slated to be held on February 27. Ganesan was earlier the governor of Manipur since August 2021 and had held additional charge of West Bengal from July to November 2022. He was administered the oath by Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Songkhupchung Serto at the Raj Bhavan here in the presence of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton, Speaker Sharingain Longkumer, cabinet ministers, Director General of Police Lokayukta Banuo Z. Jamir, senior bureaucrats and officers of the state.

Former Union minister Shiv Pratap Shukla takes oath as Himachal Governor

Former Union Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla on Saturday took oath as the 29th Governor of Himachal Pradesh at Raj Bhawan here. Shukla was administered the oath of office and secrecy by acting Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice Sabina. He took oath in Sanskrit. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was also present at the swearing-in ceremony. Himachal Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena read out the warrant of appointment. Before taking oath, Shukla performed 'yajana' along with family members. Later, interacting with the media, the governor said that it was a high constitutional post and he would work in coordination with the state government. Expressing gratitude to the President of India for his appointment, the governor said that he would work in accordance with the Constitution and complete the work started by previous governors. He also said Himachal Pradesh is a leading state in field of education and now he would contribute towards quality .