NEW DELHI: Former Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla was on Tuesday appointed the Governor of the strife-torn Manipur, according to a press communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Former Union Minister and ex-Army Chief VK Singh has been appointed as the Governor of Mizoram. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has been shifted as the Governor of Bihar. Khan has been replaced by Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar in the southern state. Bhalla, a 1984-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was appointed as the Home Secretary in August 2019, a post which he held for five years till August 2024 after receiving four extensions. Manipur had been without a full-fledged Governor since July 31 after Anusuiya Uikey left the post. Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya had been holding the additional charge of the state since then.
It was during Bhalla’s tenure as the Union Home Secretary that ethnic violence broke out in Manipur in May 2023. Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation of Raghubar Das as the Governor of Odisha.
Hari Babu Kambhampati, the Governor of Mizoram, has been appointed as the Governor of Odisha. The appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.