STATE TIMES NEWS
LEH: Kavinder Gupta was sworn in as the third Lieutenant Governor of UT Ladakh at the Durbar Hall of the Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat.
He was administered the Oath of Office by Justice Arun Palli, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
At a vibrant function at the LG Secretariat, attended by people from all walks of life, the LG was accorded a guard of honour by the Ladakh Police after taking oath as the new LG of UT Ladakh. He took the oath in the presence of his family members.
Chief Secretary, Pawan Kotwal, read the warrant of Gupta’s appointment by President 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. He was the J&K Deputy Chief Minister in 2018 during the BJP-PDP 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.
Interacting with the media persons after taking oath as the new LG, Kavinder Gupta, thanking President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for his new assignment, reiterated his commitment to work for the development of Ladakh.
Venerable Rinpoches, Chairman/CEC, LAHDC Leh, Advocate 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.