Former Ladakah Lt. Governor Kavinder Gupta was sworn in as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh in a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in Shimla on Tuesday.
Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia administered the oath of office and secrecy to him.
Governor of Haryana Prof. Ashim Kumar Ghosh, his wife Mitra Ghosh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Lady Governor Bindu Gupta were present on the occasion.
Gupta hails from Jammu and has served as a Deputy Chief Minister and Speaker of J&K state Assembly, before abrogation of Article 370 by the Central government. He was Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh and has now been made the Himachal Pradesh Governor.
After taking the oath the Governor said, “The office of the Governor is a constitutional responsibility and the Governor does not belong to any political party and works for the overall development of the state and society.”
He said, “He would strive to carry forward the initiatives started by previous Governors and seek the cooperation of the Chief Minister and the state government in completing them on priority and would work to improve the quality of education in the state.”
The Governor said “he would focus on environmental protection, enhancing the state’s green cover, preserving cultural heritage and strengthening tourism, particularly religious tourism”.
Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Speaker of the HP Vidhan Sabha Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur among other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
