Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, who left for Mumbai on Thursday after an eventful year of holding additional charge in Tamil Nadu, was associated with several important political events in the State during his tenure. He was the only Governor to hold additional charge of the State for over a year.
Significant developments
Mr. Rao, who was giving additional charge as Tamil Nadu Governor in early September 2016, was caught in a series of turning point developments with then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa being hospitalised barely a fortnight after he assumed office here. On the night of December 5, 2016, following Jayalalithaa’s death, he created a history of sorts by administering the oath of office to a new Cabinet headed by O. Panneerselvam at midnight. No other ministry in Tamil Nadu was sworn-in at night.
In February, after Mr. Panneerselvam resigned and then rebelled against V.K. Sasikala, whose name he himself had proposed as Leader of AIADMK Legislature Party, the Governor took his time in deciding on swearing-in the next government. Subsequently he administered the oath of office to Edappadi K. Palaniswami and his Cabinet members. Thus, he saw three Chief Ministers in his under-six months of taking additional charge of Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Rao divided his time between Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu but drew criticism from Opposition leaders who felt he was in Mumbai during critical times when he should have been in Chennai. By not acting on the individual letters submitted by 18 dissident AIADMK MLAs (since disqualified) withdrawing support to Mr. Palaniswami, he did not have to go through a possible third swearing in ceremony.
Though he was shuttling between Mumbai and Chennai, Mr. Rao managed to find time to make serious impact in the higher education scene in Tamil Nadu with the virtue of being the Chancellor of all State-run universities in the State. In a welcome move, Mr. Rao streamed the appointments of Vice-Chancellors of universities and even interviewed some of the candidates.
Welcome steps
He also opened the gates of the Raj Bhavan to the general public for a visit. Mr. Rao also was the man behind installation of a 400 Kwp solar power plant, which is to be commissioned soon. The initiative is expected to cater to about 80% of the energy needs of the Raj Bhavan and save close to ₹45 lakh to exchequer annually.
Mr. Palaniswami, Mr.Panneerselvam, Deputy Lok Sabha Speaker M. Thambi Durai and other Ministers attended the farewell function organised at the airport here. Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan and Director-General of Police T.K. Rajendran participated.
Banwarilal arrives
Tamil Nadu’s Governor-designate Banwarilal Purohit was received at the airport by Mr. Palaniswami, Mr. Panneerselvam, Mr. Thambi Durai, Ministers, regional heads of three forces and bureaucrats.
Welcoming the Governor, Mr. Palaniswami introduced him to his Cabinet members and said that he was looking forward to working with him.
