Kavinder Gupta sworn in as Himachal Pradesh Governor
Shimla, March 10: Kavinder Gupta on Tuesday took oath as the 23rd Governor of Himachal Pradesh at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan Shimla. The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
Kavinder Gupta succeeds Shiv Pratap Shukla, who recently completed his tenure as the Governor of the hill state. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, several cabinet ministers, MLAs and senior administrative officers.
After taking oath, Gupta said that serving as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh is a matter of great responsibility and honour. He expressed his commitment to work for the welfare and development of the people of the state while upholding constitutional values.
Before his appointment as Governor, Gupta served as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh. A senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he has held several key positions in his political career. He earlier served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and also remained the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. In addition, he was elected Mayor of Jammu for three consecutive terms, gaining administrative and political experience at the grassroots level.
The appointment of Gupta as the Governor comes as part of a recent reshuffle of gubernatorial posts approved by Droupadi Murmu. Political observers believe that his administrative experience and long association with public life could play an important role in strengthening coordination between the state government and the constitutional office of the Governor.
The ceremony concluded with the national anthem and a formal guard of honour, marking the beginning of Gupta’s tenure as the constitutional head of Himachal Pradesh.