Gulab Chand Kataria has been appointed as the new Governor of Punjab. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Chandigarh
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on July 28 said he will welcome Gulab Chand Kataria, the new Governor of the State, and work in coordination with him.
Mr. Kataria replaced Banwarilal Purohit as the Governor of Punjab as part of major gubernatorial appointments announced on July 27 night.
President Droupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation of Mr. Purohit as the Governor of Punjab and the administrator of Chandigarh. Mr. Purohit had tendered his resignation in February, 2024.
Responding to a question on the new incumbent, CM Mann said that on July 28 morning, he spoke to Mr. Kataria, who told him that he would take oath on July 31.
“The President has appointed the new Governor. We will welcome the new Governor. We will work together,” CM Mann told reporters in Chandigarh after flagging off 58 new ambulances.
The CM said he respected Mr. Purohit but was not happy with his visits to the border districts. Mr. Purohit tried to create an “atmosphere of conflict”, he added.
Referring to his recent two-day visit to Jalandhar, CM Mann said the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police could not go with him as they were accompanying the Governor to his visits to the border districts.
“How could he run a parallel [government],” CM Mann said, adding, he had no role in Mr. Purohit’s resignation. On July 26, when Mr. Purohit was asked why he resigned, he said, “Maybe I thought that the CM did not like me.”
CM Mann on July 25 hit out at Mr. Purohit over his visits to border areas, saying he should refrain from creating an “atmosphere of conflict” and instead inaugurate a seminar at a University.
Mr. Purohit during his visits to the border districts had held meetings with villagers and officials of police and Central agencies. Mr. Purohit visited Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts on July 23, and Amritsar on July 24. It was his seventh visit as the Governor.
Mr. Purohit and CM Mann earlier had been at loggerheads over various issues, including the summing of Assembly Session and appointments of Vice-Chancellors of State-run Universities.
