Governors of Karnataka, Tripura to retire on Saturday

NEW DELHI: Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj and Tripura Governor Devanand Konwar will retire tomorrow and Governors of Tamil Nadu and Mizoram have been given the additional charge of the two states respectively.

77-year-old Bhardwaj, who was the Law Minister in UPA-I, took charge as the Governor of Karnataka on June 29, 2009 and has been occupying the post since then.

Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah will hold the additional charge of Karnataka until regular arrangements for the office are made, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said.

71-year-old Konwar, a former Congress Minister in Assam, was first appointed as the Governor of Bihar on June 29, 2009 and continued in the post till March 21, 2013. He was then transferred as Governor of Tripura.

Mizoram Governor Vakkom B Purushothaman has been given the additional charge of Tripura while Meghalaya Governor K K Paul will assume the charge of the Governor of Nagaland in addition to his own responsibility.

With this, five Raj Bhavans will have vacancies. Following pressure of the new central government, Uttar Pradesh Governor B L Joshi, Chhattisgarh Governor Shekhar Dutt and Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar stepped down from their respective posts.

Sources have said that the government was considering appointing some BJP veterans as Governors.

Two more Governors -- M K Narayanan (West Bengal) and B V Wanchoo (Goa) -- are expected put in their papers soon, the sources said.