Gulab Chand Kataria sworn in as Punjab governor

BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria, 79, was on Wednesday sworn in as the governor of Punjab and administrator of Chandigarh.

Punjab and Haryana high court chief justice Sheel Nagu administered the oath of office to Kataria at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan.

Kataria, who was the Assam governor before his present assignment, replaces Banwarilal Purohit, who remained the governor of Punjab for nearly three years before tendering his resignation in February. President Droupadi Murmu accepted his resignation on July 27.

Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, former Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore, and state ministers, including Harpal Singh Cheema and Gurmeet Singh Khudian, were present at the oath-taking ceremony. Later, Mann introduced his ministers to Kataria.

After taking the oath in Hindi, Kataria said: “It is my first day (in office). I have got the responsibility of an important state. How I perform will be known after six to eight months when people and parties analyse my work. I will try to work as a good public servant. I will definitely visit the border areas and all districts. Time will tell (on his relationship with the CM).”

Kataria, who belongs to Udaipur and has roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), served as the Rajasthan home minister twice — from 2004-08 and from 2015-18 — besides being the leader of opposition in the Rajasthan assembly. He served as education, public works panchayati raj, rural development and disaster management minister in the Vasundhara Raje government.

An eight-time former MLA, he was appointed the governor of Assam in February 2023.

On Sunday, chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who had frequent run-ins with Purohit, said he welcomes Kataria as the new governor of Punjab and will work in coordination with him. “We welcome the new governor. Punjabis are known for their hospitality. We will work together,” the chief minister had said.