New Delhi: Former Union minister and senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh Manoj Sinha was on Thursday appointed Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, the Rashtrapati Bhawan spokesman said, replacing Girish Chandra Murmu, who was named to the crucial post leas than a year ago.
Murmu is expected to be named as the next comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India when the term of the present incumbent, Rajiv Mehrishi, ends on August 7. Sinha will be the fourth LG of Jammu and Kashmir in two years, with the Modi government clearly unable to settle on a candidate who can run the Union Territory (which was a state till August 6, 2019) as the representative of the Centre.
The people of J&K have been without a democratically elected govt since June 2018, when the Bharatiya Janata Party ended its alliance with Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party. A communique issued by the president’s secretariat said that the resignation of Murmu as LG has been accepted. Murmu’s resignation came exactly one year after the Narendra Modi govt moved to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.–Agencies
