Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal shifted to Mizoram

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government has transferred Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal to Mizoram for the rest of her tenure, which ends on October 14 this year.

Modi, while he was the CM of Gujarat, has had several run-ins with the 87-year-old Governor, mainly on the issue of appointing a Lokayukta. A statement by the President's Secretariat on Sunday said Margaret Alva, Governor of Rajasthan, would hold additional charge of Gujarat for the time being.

Sunday's move didn't feature any BJP veterans for the seven vacant Governor posts. Instead, Vakkom Purushothaman, the present Governor of Mizoram, has been shifted to Nagaland for the remainder of his term.

He will continue to hold additional charge of the office of Governor of Tripura. Kamla Beniwal had taken charge as the Gujarat Governor in 2009. Her removal took political circles by surprise as it was being speculated that New Delhi might allow Beniwal to last her term for the remaining three months.

The development is now bound to invite criticism from the Congress with the Budget Session of Parliament beginning on Monday. During the peak of her run-ins with the Modi government, Beniwal sought expenditure details of Modi's celebrated Sadbhavna Fast in 2011, when he had first aired his prime ministerial ambitions.

But the biggest bone of contention between Beniwal and Modi has been the appointment of Lokayukta. It may be recalled here that while the office of Lokayukta was lying vacant in Gujarat since 2003, Beniwal had appointed Retd. Justice RA Mehta as the Lokayukta despite Modi's reservations.
Gujarat government fought the appointment in the SC too. However, Justice Mehta declined to assume office following the controversy.