Ex-Union Minister Manoj Sinha takes oath as new Lt Governor of J&K

Sri Nagar: Former union minister and BJP leader Manoj Sinha took oath as the new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. He is the second Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir after the state was bifurcated and made into a union territory last year.Sri 

Sinha replaced Girish Chandra Murmu, who after his resignation on Wednesday was appointed as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

A three-time member of Parliament and a minister in the Narendra Modi government’s first term at the Centre, Sinha’s appointment as Lt Governor comes at a time when the region is grappling with multiple issues, from security concerns to a tumultuous social and political landscape .

Choosing a politician instead of a bureaucrat or a retired army man is also being read as a signal of New Delhi’s intent to foster friendly ties with the state’s bureaucracy and its people and bank on Sinha’s ability to juggle statecraft with legislative limitations.

On Thursday morning while leaving home for his new address in J&K, Sinha’s only comment to the waiting media retinue was “accha hai” (it is good).

After Satyapal Malik, who was governor of erstwhile J&K state, Sinha is the new political touch to the Valley - both Malik and Sinha are grassroot politicians with the latter an alma mater of IIT-BHU, Varanasi. He lost the last Lok Sabha election to strongman and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Afzal Ansari.

Sinha has represented the parliamentary constituency of Ghazipur in eastern Uttar Pradesh thrice in the Lok Sabha. He has also served as minister of communications and minister of state for Railways.