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There is no place for drugs in HP, says new governor Shiv Pratap Shukla
The newly appointed governor said he would complete the works initiated by the previous governor and also urged chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to cooperate in completing those projects on priority
Former minister of state for finance Shiv Pratap Shukla on Saturday took oath as the 29th governor of Himachal Pradesh at the Raj Bhawan in Shimla.
Acting chief justice of Himachal high court Justice Sabina administered the oath of office and secrecy to him. Shukla opted to take the oath in Sanskrit.
The newly appointed governor said he would complete the works initiated by the previous governor and also urged chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to cooperate in completing those projects on priority.
Expressing his concern over the mushrooming illegal drug trade in the state, Shukla said, “The menace is rapidly taking the young generation, the future of our country, in its grip. Himachal is the land of gods and there should be no place for drugs here. I also seek the media’s cooperation in my efforts towards eradicating this narcotics network.”
He said that law enforcement authorities work at their own level, but there is a need to create more awareness on this issue.
“It would be my endeavour to ensure the participation of every person by expanding the drug de-addiction campaigns and roping in educational institutions and social organisations,” he added.
The governor said he would travel the state by road in order to know the problems of people and understand Himachal more closely.
Shukla, a senior BJP leader, hails from Rudrapur in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district. He was appointed as BJP chief whip in 2020. Earlier, he had served as the Union minister of state for finance during the first tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from 2014-2019.
Shukla began his career with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
He was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 1989 and re-elected in 1991, 1993, and 1996. He served as jail minister in the BJP-BSP coalition government from 1996 to 1998 and rural development minister from 1998-2002.
Shukla was also jailed during the Emergency in 1975 and had come out of prison in 1977.
