Governor designate AK Bhalla arrives

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jan 2: Ajay Kumar Bhalla who has been appointed as the Governor of Manipur arrived here today.
Chief Minister N Biren, Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi, DGP Rajiv Singh, Imphal West Deputy Commissioner Th Kiran Kumar, and many senior officials of the State Government received Ajay Kumar Bhalla as he arrived at Imphal International Airport at 1.20 pm today.
Ajay Kumar Bhalla would be sworn in as the new Governor of Manipur at the Raj Bhavan at 10.30 am on Friday and High Court of Manipur Chief Justice Dr Krishna Kumar would administer him the oath of office and secrecy.
On reaching Raj Bhavan from the airport, the newly appointed Governor was accorded a warm reception by Chief Minister N Biren, Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker Th Satyabrata, Cabinet Ministers Th Biswajit, Y Khemchand and Sapam Ranjan.
Ajay Kumar Bhalla who earlier served as the Home Secretary, Government of India hails from Jalandhar, Punjab.
He is a retired IAS officer of 1984 batch from Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
An order issued by President Droupadi Murmu on December 24 appointed Ajay Kumar Bhalla as the new Governor of Manipur.
Bhalla replaces Lakshman Prasad Acharya, who held the Manipur post since July 2023.
Apart from Bhalla, other gubernatorial reshuffles had also taken place.
In other key appointments, former Army Chief General Vijay Kumar Singh was appointed to serve as Mizoram's Governor-his first gubernatorial role. Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati was appointed to shift from Mizoram to Odisha, replacing Raghbuar Das who resigned from the position.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, known for his confrontations with the State Government, will serve as Bihar's Governor. In a corresponding move, Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar will take charge in Kerala.