Former Union minister Manoj Sinha has been appointed as new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir after President Kovind accepted the resignation of Girish Chandra Murmu, ANI reported citing sources.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu had abruptly resigned on Wednesday. While there is no official statement on his resignation, it reportedly came on the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that ended the J&K’s special status. Murmu was the first Lieutenant Governor after the state was carved into two union territories, the other one being Ladakh.
Murmu’s resignation also comes right before the office of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is going to fall vacant. Incumbent CAG Rajiv Mehrishi is turning 65 on August 8 and has to step down from the post. The post of CAG is a constitutional one and cannot be left vacant, which means the government is looking for a replacement.
Murmu, a 60-year-old former IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, had taken oath as the first Lieutenant Governor of the union territory of J&K on October 29 last year. Earlier in his career, he has served as Principal Secretary to Narendra Modi during the latter’s tenure as Gujarat CM.
After Modi became the Prime Minister of the country, Murmu was shifted to the Ministry of Finance and was holding the office of Expenditure Secretary when he was appointed as Lieutenant Governor.
