Badnore takes charge as Punjab guv, calls for zero tolerance for drug abuse
V P Singh Badnore on Monday took oath as the new Punjab governor and also as administrator of Chandigarh administration here.
VP Singh Badnore took charge as Punjab governor and Chandigarh administrator at Punjab Raj Bhawan here on Monday. Punjab and Haryana high court chief justice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar administered him the oath of governor’s office.
Addressing the media on the occasion, Badnore called for zero tolerance to drug abuse. “Let us resolve to promote a healthier society just as the Prime Minister stressed on creating a healthy India through yoga and sports activities,” he said. He said while Ludhiana had been selected under Smart City project, he will pursue the cases of Amritsar and Jalandhar as well.
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Badnore said development required regular stocktaking to assess the distance covered, for which he would seek people’s feedback. Earlier, Punjab chief secretary Sarvesh Kaushal read out the warrants of appointment. Punjab chief minister, who sat next to Badnore, congratulated the new governor.
Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Rajiv Partap Rudy, and Maneka Gandhi; Vidhan Sabha speaker Charanjit Singh Attwal; Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal; Gurdaspur MP Vinod Khanna; state Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh, and state ministers Bikramjit Singh Majithia and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema; and MLA Jagmohan Singh Kang were present.
Not invited as ‘CLP leader’, Channi skips function
Punjab Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Charanjit Singh Channi gave the swearing-in ceremony of Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore a miss on Monday in protest against not being invited as leader of the opposition. “The invite to me came as an MLA, not the state CLP leader. It’s a tradition that the leader of opposition gets a special invite,” Channi said. “In a democracy, the governor has a neutral role. Still, neither protocol nor democratic norms were followed.”
Who is Badnore?
VP Singh Badnore, 69, replaces Kaptan Singh Solanki, who is the governor of Haryana and was holding additional charge of Punjab Governor and administrator of Chandigarh since January 2015. Badnore, who belongs to Bhilwara, was a four-time BJP legislator in the Rajasthan assembly. He was an MLA from 1977-80, 1985-90, 1993-98 and 1998-99. During his last term as MLA, he was the state irrigation minister.
He was a member of the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha from 1999-2004 and from 2004-09. In July 2010, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
A graduate in business management, he studied at Mayo College, Ajmer, and Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad. Rajya Sabha records describe Badnore as an agriculturist, environmentalist, social worker, and sportsman.
He was the chairman of the special task force to rehabilitate tigers in Sariska (Rajasthan) from 2005-09 and a member of the empowered committee of forests and wildlife management in Rajasthan.
He is a widely-travelled parliamentarian. He was a part of the Indian delegations to Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Canada, in 1994 and in 2004 besides the Indian delegation of South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) to Pakistan.
A keen swimmer, he participated in national school-level swimming competitions.