Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik has been appointed as the new Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. According to the Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, he will be replacing NN Vohra, reported India TV.
NN Vohra has been the Governor of J&K since 2008. He has been substituted in the midst of his alleged rivalry with the Central government over Article 35A which bestows special privileges on the permanent residents of the state and the election of a new government in the state, reported NDTV.
After the People’s Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government fell, the state of J&K has been under Governor’s rule since June 20. NDTV report said that the Centre was willing on the formation of a new government in the state, but Vohra did not agree.
Vohra’s term as the Governor ended on June 28, however, the Centre decided to extend his service till the end of Amarnath Yatra. He was appointed by the UPA government and he continued as the Governor after BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014, reported News18.
Satya Pal Malik is the former vice-president of BJP, who was assigned as the Governor of Bihar in 2017. He also served as the Union Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism in 1990. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha twice.
Malik is replaced by BJP veteran Lalji Tandon as the Governor of Bihar.