Gandhinagar: Senior BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP, OP Kohli was sworn-in as the 24th Governor of Gujarat at a ceremony held on Wednesday. At the beginning, Chief Secretary to Gujarat Government, Varesh Sinha read out the warrant of appointment by the President of India about Kohli's appointment as Governor, following which the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, Bhaskar Bhattacharya administered the oath of office to 78-year-old Kohli.
The ceremony was attended by several state ministers and top officers. Kohli replaced Dr Kamla Beniwal, who had frosty relations with the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, especially on the issues like appointment of Lokayukta and on approving certain legislations, including one that provides for 50 per cent reservation to women in local bodies, which were passed by the state Assembly.
Beniwal was transferred to Mizoram in a gubernatorial reshuffle effected by the BJP-led NDA government on July 6, where she will serve the remainder of her term till November. Meanwhile, during his interaction with media after the ceremony, Kohli said, "It's like home-coming for me. Gujarat is like a home to me. Earlier, I had stayed in Bhavnagar in Saurashtra region in the state. It is not unknown territory for me. This is the state of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel and I am very happy to be here."
On working with Anandi Patel, the first woman chief minister of the state, Kohli said, "She is like my sister. We had been together as members of Rajya Sabha and we were sharing a good rapport."
Kohli who had served as MP in the Upper House of Parliament from 1994 to 2000. A former chief of BJP's Delhi unit in 2009, Kohli has been associated with BJP since his student days and was made the president of the party's student wing, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) before becoming the president of the Delhi University Teachers Association.
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