31 July, Chandigarh: On Wednesday, 79-year-old BJP politician Gulab Chand Kataria took the oath of office as Chandigarh’s administrator and Punjab’s governor.
Sheel Nagu, chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court, gave Kataria the oath of office during a ceremony at Raj Bhavan.
Banwarilal Purohit, the governor of Punjab for almost three years till he submitted his resignation in February, is replaced by Gulab Chand Kataria, the former governor of Assam.
The oath-taking event was attended by state ministers Harpal Singh Cheema and Gurmeet Singh Khudian, former Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, and Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya. Later, Kataria was presented to Bhagwant Mann’s ministers.
Following the Hindi oath-taking, Kataria declared, “Today is my first day (at work).” I hold the authority of a significant state. After six to eight months, when people and parties evaluate my job, it will be clear how well I’m doing. I’ll do my best to serve the public well. Without a doubt, I will tour every district and the border territories.
In addition to leading the opposition in the Rajasthan assembly, Kataria, an Udaipur native with roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), held the role of Rajasthan home minister twice, from 2004 to 2008 and from 2015 to 2018.
