IMPHAL: Former union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla took oath as the 19th governor of Manipur during a function at the Raj Bhavan on January 3, Friday. Bhalla was administered the oath of office by Manipur High Court Chief Justice D. Krishnakumar.
Bhalla inspected the guard of honor by Manipur Rifles personnel. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, MLAs, high-ranking officials, police officers, among others, took part in the oath-taking ceremony. The reshuffle comes in the midst of ongoing ethnic violence that has plagued the northeastern state since May 2023.
Bhalla, a 1984-batch retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, replaces Lakshman Prasad Acharya, who held the Manipur post since July 2023. President Droupadi Murmu appointed Bhalla the governor of Manipur last month. Bhalla, who has the rare distinction of being the longest-serving union home secretary, completed his five-year tenure in August last year.
Meanwhile, Former Mizoram Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, on January 3 took oath as the 27th Governor of Odisha, during a function at the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. Orissa High Court Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh administered the oath of office to Kambhampati in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik, state ministers, MLAs, MPs, BJP leaders and other dignitaries.
Kambhampati succeeded Raghubar Das, who resigned from the post recently. Kambhampati received a ceremonial send-off function by Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on January 2.
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