NEW DELHI, 7 July 2004 —President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has appointed four new governors for Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Goa. Congress stalwart and former AICC General Secretary Nawal Kishore Sharma, former UPSC Chairman A.R. Kidwai, former Intelligence Bureau chief T.V. Rajeshwar and former Nagaland Chief Minister S.C. Jamir were named late Monday governors of Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Goa.
Four days ago the president had removed the governors of these four states who have right-wing Hindu background and were appointed by the previous NDA government.
The new governors replace Kailashpati Mishra of Gujarat, Babu Parmanand of Haryana, Vishnu Kant Shastri of Uttar Pradesh and Kidar Nath Sahni of Goa.
A Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué said: “The appointments will take effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices.”
On Monday, a public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the removal of the four governors and terming the decision of the Congress-led coalition government in this regard as “unconstitutional”. The petition filed by B.P. Singhal, a Bharatiya Janata Party MP and brother of Vishwa Hindu Parishad working president Ashok Singhal, said the decision of the government to remove the governors was unconstitutional.
