Amid reports that outgoing J&K Governor N.N. Vohra parted ways on an unhappy note with the Centre, Home Minister Rajnath Singh issued a statement on Friday that Mr. Vohra’s performance has been “outstanding.”
Mr. Vohra, who was occupying the post since 2008, was replaced by Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik earlier this week.
Mr. Singh’s statement came after Ravinder Raina, president of BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir unit, claimed in a video that the new governor was “our man” and “we did not want to continue with Mr. Vohra.”
In a statement, Mr. Singh said the governor’s post is constitutional and has its own dignity and it is expected from a governor that he or she performs impartially without fear and favour.
Though there is no fixed tenure of the Governor, Mr. Vohra continued in office at the pleasure of the President of India. Mr. Vohra’s second six-year term (that equals the State assembly’s term of six-years) ended on June 25. He continued in office as the State was placed under Governor’s rule on June 20 and Centre needed an experienced administrator due to the ongoing Amarnath Yatra that concludes on August 28.
As reported by The Hindu, the last two months of Mr.Vohra's term witnessed increased friction between his office and the Centre and the Army over a range of issues including the killing of three civilians in army firing in Kulgam on July 7.
In the video, Mr. Singh said, “He has had a long administrative tenure, not only this, he was outstanding. Governor’s post is a constitutional post, he is supposed to be non-partisan and unbiased. Mr. Vohra followed these principles with distinction and this benefitted the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
He added that the new Governor Mr. Malik also had a long political career and the State will benefit from his experiences.
