Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi gets Mizoram post

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday announced that Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi will be the new Governor of Mizoram while Qureshi's place in the Dehradun Raj Bhawan will be taken by former Delhi Police Commissioner KK Paul.

Mizoram has now got its sixth Governor in as many months since July, triggering speculation that the state has become a dumping ground for Governors that the Centre wish would quit. Qureshi had dragged the government earlier to the Supreme Court after Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami had called him few months ago, nudging him to put in his papers or face a sacking or transfer for certain alleged inappropriate comments on rapes in Uttar Pradesh.

In July, the new BJP Government has announced that the then Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman would be shifted to Nagaland. He however chose to resign though he still had a term left of nearly two years. The Centre them announced the transfer of Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal to the Mizoram Raj Bhawan in July and she duly joined there. But she was removed as a Governor on August 6 on orders of the President after the Centre forwarded a report on alleged irregularities committed by her. The Centre then announced K. Sankarnarayanan, the Maharashtra Governor, as the Governor of Mizoram but he also resigned in protest and did not join in Mizoram.

The Centre then gave additional charge of Mizoram Raj Bhawan, first to Manipur Governor VK Duggal and then to Meghalaya Governor KK Paul in September. Qureshi has now been given permanent charge of the Mizoram Raj Bhawan with Paul headed to Uttarakhand. It is unclear if Qureshi will join in Mizoram or resign or contemplate approaching the Supreme Court again. He still has a 3-year term left in office.