New Governor of Kerala Takes Charge, Intervenes in Police Transfers
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Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 3 (NationPress) Just hours post his inauguration as the new Governor of Kerala, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar made his authority known by calling in a senior police officer to express his dissatisfaction over the recent transfers of several police personnel linked to the former Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
On Thursday, Chief Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar administered the oath of office to Arlekar during a concise ceremony at the Governor's official residence, marking him as the 23rd Governor of Kerala.
Arlekar wasted no time addressing the issues at hand as transferred officers conveyed their concerns. He summoned the senior police officer responsible for overseeing personnel transfers to the Raj Bhavan.
Following the meeting, the transferred officers were reinstated at their positions at the Raj Bhavan.
The relationship between the Left government, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and outgoing Governor Khan had deteriorated significantly over the past months, culminating in a lack of farewell from the Chief Minister and his cabinet when Khan departed from the official residence on Sunday.
However, CM Vijayan made a point to cut short a press conference and hurried to the airport on Wednesday to welcome Arlekar upon his arrival in the state.
Before leaving his home state of Goa, Arlekar paid a brief visit to Goa Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, who shares roots with Kerala. Reflecting on his new role, Arlekar remarked, “My responsibility is to support the Kerala government, and I have no intention of engaging in conflict. This has always been my approach. My meeting with the Goa Governor was aimed at gaining insights.”
One of Arlekar's initial significant tasks will be to deliver the required Governor’s address to the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly later this month, which is traditionally presented on the inaugural day of the first session in the new calendar year.
In the meantime, Arif Mohammad Khan was sworn in as the 42nd Governor of Bihar on Thursday at Rajendra Mandapam, Raj Bhavan.
