New Delhi:
Jammu and Kashmir newly appointed Governor Satyapal Malik will take oath as the 13th governor of the state on Thursday, ending the five-decade-long practice of retired bureaucrats being appointed to the post, official sources said.
J&K Governor designate, Satya Pal Malik arrived in Srinagar, earlier today. He will take oath as the 13th Governor of Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/IJGzRebGM0
— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2018
Malik, 72, will be the first politician to be appointed as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir after Karan Singh, who held the office from 1965 to 1967.
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The Jammu and Kashmir governor designate arrived in Srinagar in a chartered plane on Wednesday.
Following the BJP-PDP alliance break up in June, 2018, the militancy-hit state had been under the Governor’s rule.
Meanwhile, National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah, welcoming Malik hopes his term in office would be a peacful one and Malik would work towards peace, normality and equitable development.
My own personal welcome to Governor Designate Satyapal Malik as he arrives in Srinagar to take over as @jandkgovernor. I hope his term in office is a successful one & as the administrator of the state will work towards peace, normality & equitable development.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 22, 2018
Malik started his political career as a student leader in Meerut University and became an MLA of Charan Singh’s Bhartiya Kranti Dal from Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat in 1974.
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In 1984, Malik had joined the Congress and became a Rajya Sabha MP. He switched to the V P Singh-led Janta Dal in 1988 and became an MP from Aligarh in 1989.
Malik joined the BJP in 2004 and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections, losing to former prime minister Charan Singh’s son Ajit Singh.
(With PTI inputs)
