The decision of Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung to put in his papers on Thursday evening caught not only the State and Central governments but even his own staff by surprise with officials insisting that they had no inkling that he would do so till they were asked to convey his decision to the press through an official statement here.
A senior Home Ministry official said that Mr. Jung would be required to continue in his office till a successor was appointed even as sources close to him confirmed that the former academician “had been contemplating a stint at teaching for some time now” with a statement from Raj Niwas adding that academics was “his first love”.
Mr. Jung thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi “for all the help and cooperation he received during his tenure as the Lt. Governor of Delhi.” He also thanked Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal “for his association in the last two years.” Mr. Jung took over as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi from Tejendra Khanna in July 2013.
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Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, who met Mr. Jung two days ago, said he gave no indication that he planned to quit; a senior leader from the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who was part of a delegation that called on the LG at Raj Niwas on Wednesday, concurred and added that the meeting went without Mr. Jung dropping any hints about stepping down a day later.