*‘I will make UT world class tourist destination’
Avtar Bhat
LEH, July 18: Former Deputy Chief Minister of J&K and ex Speaker, Kavinder Gupta today took oath as the third Lieutenant Governor of UT Ladakh at an impressive function held in the Durbar Hall of the Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat here.
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He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Justice, Arun Palli, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The function was attended by people from all walks of life including senior officers, political leaders and prominent citizens. The new Lt Governor was accorded a guard of honour by the Ladakh Police after taking oath.
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The family members of Kavinder Gupta besides senior BJP leaders from J&K and Ladakh were also present in oath taking ceremony. Chief Secretary, Pawan Kotwal, read the warrant of Gupta’s appointment by President of India, Droupadi Murmu.
Kavinder Gupta succeeds Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd), who took over the reins as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh on February 19, 2023. Brig (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) had succeeded RK Mathur, appointed as the first Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh in 2019, after the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir was split into two Union Territories.
Kavinder Gupta has held several key posts in the past, both in the Government and within his party BJP. He was the J&K Deputy Chief Minister in 2018 during the BJP-PDP alliance Government.
Hailing from Jammu city’s Janipur area, the 66-year-old senior BJP leader has also served as Jammu Mayor for a record three consecutive terms from 2005 to 2010. He also served as general secretary of the BJP’s State unit and headed the J&K unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) for two consecutive terms from 1993 to 1998.
Kavinder Gupta was elected as an MLA for the first time from the Gandhi Nagar constituency in the 2014 Assembly elections. Subsequently, he was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the House. He had earlier served as secretary of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and spent about 13 months in jail during the emergency in Punjab as an active member of RSS.
Interacting with the mediapersons after taking oath as the new LG, Gupta, complimented President of India, Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for his new assignment and reiterated his commitment to work for the development of Ladakh.
He accused the previous Governments of subjecting Ladakh to grave discrimination. “I know that Ladakh has suffered a lot during previous rule and I assure you to take that above party politics and religion I will take everyone on board to rebuild Ladakh and make it a world class tourist destination’’.
In response to a question that the people of Ladakh have many expectations from him being a political leader, he said he has served as Deputy CM in erstwhile State and he is fully familiar with Ladakh. “I will act on the PM Narendra Modi’s Mantra of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas,’’ he added.
Religious leader, Thiksey Rinpoche, Chairman/CEC, LAHDC Leh, Tashi Gyalson; Chairman /CEC LAHDC Kargil, Dr Mohd Jaffer Akhoon; Chief Secretary, Dr Pawan Kotwal,; Deputy Chairman, Executive Councillors and Councillors from both Leh and Kargil Hill Councils; GOC 14 Corps, Lt Gen Hitesh Bhalla; DGP Ladakh Police, Dr SD Singh Jamwal,; Administrative Secretaries, heads and members of religious and political institutions, DC Leh, Romil Singh Donk; SSP Leh, Shruti Arora, and various other officials were present in the event.
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