Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala was sworn in as the 17th full-time Governor of Karnataka on Monday at a function held at the Glass House of the Raj Bhavan.
Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka D.H. Waghela administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Vala in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Union Ministers, Karnataka Ministers, MPs and legislators.
Mr. Vala, who took oath in Hindi in the name of God, said he would uphold the Constitution and work for the welfare of the people of the State.
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Earlier, Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee read out President Pranab Mukherjee’s order appointing Mr. Vala as the Governor of Karnataka under Article 155 of the Constitution.
Mr. Siddaramaiah congratulated the Governor and presented a shawl and sandalwood garland to him. They shook hands and posed for photographs.
Later, as per protocol, Mr. Justice Waghela, Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Mukherjee escorted Mr. Vala to the entrance of the Raj Bhavan. Officers and staff of the Raj Bhavan greeted and welcomed the new Governor.
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Seers from Swami Narayana Temple, Bhuj, Gujarat, presented Mr. Vala with a shawl.
Prominent personalities who congratulated the Governor were Chairman of the Legislative Council D.H. Shankaramurthy, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Kagodu Thimmappa, Union Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Union Chemicals and Fertilizer Minister Ananth Kumar, Karnataka Lokayukta Y. Bhaskar Rao, State Cabinet Ministers H.C. Mahadevappa, H. Anjaneya, R.V. Deshpande, Roshan Baig, Vinay Kumar Sorake, K.J. George, D.K. Shivakumar, U.T. Khader, and Ministers of State Dinesh Gundu Rao and K. Abhayachandra Jain.
BJP leaders, including B.S. Yeddyurappa and Shobha Karandlaje, MPs, and State BJP president Prahlad Joshi, introduced themselves to the Governor and wished him well.
Deputy Speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Mangubhai Patel, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Manubha Chudasma, and Gujarat government Chief Whip Pankajbhai Desai were also present.
Born on January 23, 1938, Mr. Vala served as the Speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 2012–14. He was a member of the BJP and served as the Cabinet Minister, holding various portfolios such as Finance, Labour and Employment in the Gujarat Government from 1998 to 2012. He holds the record of presenting the budget in the Gujarat Assembly 18 times.
Mr. Vala has two daughters and two sons.