79-year-old BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria took oath as the governor of Punjab and administrator of Chandigarh on Wednesday, July 31. Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu administered the oath of office to Kataria at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan.
Former Assam governor Kataria replaced Banwarilal Purohit and served the state for nearly three years before tendering his resignation in February. Purohit has submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu on July 27.
Gulab Chand Kataria Takes Oath As Punjab Governor
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 swearing-in ceremony.
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After taking the oath, Kataria said that this posts are not decorations and required serving the people. "The President has given me the responsibility of Punjab. I will make all the effort to carry it out like a good public servant. These posts are not decorations, it requires serving the people. In 40-45 years of public service, I have considered serving the people my 'dharma'. Here too, I will make an effort to see how useful I can be to resolve the issues of the common people. Anyone can come to me and speak...I don't compare myself to anyone...I am habitual of working in tandem with everyone. I think we contested elections from different political parties but the goal - serve the people well," said he added.