CHANDIGARH: Nirmal Kumar Mukherjee was sworn in as the 24th governor of Punjab by chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court S.S. Dewan at a simple ceremony on December 8.
Mukberjee, a former federal cabinet secretary, succeeds Siddhartha Shankar Ray who resigned Dec 7.
Mukherjee will also be the administrator of the union territory of Chandigarh.
A number of judges of the Punjab and Haryana high court, senior officials of the Punjab government and the Chandigarh administration were among those present at the brief ceremony.
Later Mukherjee told reporters that the change of government at the center had created a new situation in the country, with Prime Minister V.P. Singh giving top priority to Punjab.
This new situation, he said, is reflected in the government’s decision to constitute a cabinet committee to go into the Punjab problem and to call an all-party meeting in this regard. The Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues visit to Amritsar on Dec 7 also reflect this, he added.
Ray, in a message sent to Prime Minister V.P. Singh drew his attention to the statement made by the AISSF General Secretary Harminder Singh Sandhu in the Golden Temple complex in which he said their goal was Khalistan and announced that a parallel machinery will be set up to the Present government to disburse justice,
Ray in his message said, “Mr, Sandhu has also said many other treasonable and antinational things and there is absolutely no time to be wasted. Action has to be taken immediately, Please send me your instructions forthwith, After Operation Black Thunder nothing of the kind had happened till now.”
Article extracted from this publication >> December 15, 1989
