Manoj Sinha appointed as Lt Governor of J&K; Succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu

President of India, Ram Nath Kovind appointed Manoj Sinha(61 years old), former union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Uttar Pradesh(UP) as Lieutenant(Lt) Governor of Jammu and Kashmir(J&K), effective from the date he assumes charge. He succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu, the 1st Lt governor of the Union Territory(UT) of J&K who resigned on August 5, 2020.

Note– August 5 marks the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that granted special status to J&K.

About Manoj Sinha

Personal Info
He was born on July 1, 1959 in Mohanpura of Ghazipur district of eastern Uttar Pradesh(UP). He is called Vikas Purush(man who focuses on development) by his followers & local people of Ghazipur.

Political Career

i.He was an active member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidharthi Parishad (ABVP), the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

ii.He has been a member of the BJP national council from 1989 to 1996.

iii.He was elected as member of Parliament (MP) consecutively in 1996 & 1999 and again in 2014 to the Lok Sabha, representing Ghazipur in the Lower House.

iv.He served as the Minister of State(MoS) (independent charge) for Communications and Minister of State (MoS), Railways in the Government of India.

About Girish Chandra Murmu

Personal Info
He was born on November 21 , 1959 in Betnoti village of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha

Career

i.The 1985-batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer was appointed as the 1st Lt Governor of the UT on October 31, 2019 after its formation under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019

ii.He served as the principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

iii.He served as the Relief Commissioner of Gujarat and as a Commissioner, Mines and Minerals and Managing Director, Gujarat Maritime Board.

iv.In 2004 he was appointed as the joint secretary of Home Department of Gujarat, which was headed by Amit Shah.

v.He served as Expenditure Secretary in the Union Finance Ministry.

Recent Related News:

i.Manoj Ahuja, senior IAS officer is appointed as the new Chief of Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE), Anurag Jain as the Vice-Chairman of Delhi Development Authority(DDA) and V Vidyavati as the Director General of Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) effective from 12th May 2020.

ii.Jahnabi Phookan was appointed as the 37th National President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Ladies Organization (FLO). She succeeds Harjinder Kaur Talwar.

About J&K:

Capital– Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter)