<p>Former Union Minister Manoj Sinha was on Thursday appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, replacing incumbent G C Murmu, who has <a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/national/north-and-central/jammu-and-kashmir-lg-g-c-murmu-resigns-likely-to-be-next-comptroller-auditor-general-of-india-869999.html" target="_blank">put in his papers</a> amid buzz that he is likely to take over as the next Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).</p>.<p>Murmu (61), a former IAS officer who was Expenditure Secretary when he was appointed LG, sent in his resignation on Wednesday evening and President Ram Nath Kovind accepted it, following which the appointment of Sinha (61), a three-time MP who lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, was initiated.</p>.<p>"The President has accepted the resignation of Girish Chandra Murmu as Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The President has been pleased to appoint Manoj Sinha, to be the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office vice Girish Chandra Murmu," a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said.</p>.<p>Murmu's resignation came on the first anniversary of government's decision to revoke special status of Jammu and Kashmir. He is speculated to take over as CAG when the incumbent Rajiv Mehrishi retires this week. </p>.<p>On Wednesday evening, there were intense speculations that Mehrishi may be headed to Jammu and Kashmir Raj Bhavan but with Sinha's appointment, it has been put to rest. </p>.<p>The outgoing LG, who was appointed on October 25 and took over six days later when the Union Territory came into being, was recently in news for advocating the restoration of 4G services in Jammu and Kashmir, at a time the matter is in the Supreme Court and putting the Centre in a spot. The Election Commission also objected to his repeated remarks about the schedule of polls in the union territory.</p>.<p>Sinha's appointment came as a surprise to many while it was the return of a politician to the Kashmir Raj Bhavan. Former chief minister Omar Abdullah summed up on Twitter, “last night there were one or two names that people were circulating as a done deal and this name wasn’t among them. You can always trust this government to pull an unexpected name out of the hat contrary to anything the “sources” had planted earlier.”</p>.<p>One who loves to keep a low-profile, Sinha enjoys the trust of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. After the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he was speculated to become the Chief Minister but Yogi Adityanath was chosen later.</p>.<p>Alumni of the Benaras Hindu University from where he graduated in Civil Engineering, he is an agriculturist who won from Ghazipur thrice but lost last time. </p>
<p>Former Union Minister Manoj Sinha was on Thursday appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, replacing incumbent G C Murmu, who has <a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/national/north-and-central/jammu-and-kashmir-lg-g-c-murmu-resigns-likely-to-be-next-comptroller-auditor-general-of-india-869999.html" target="_blank">put in his papers</a> amid buzz that he is likely to take over as the next Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).</p>.<p>Murmu (61), a former IAS officer who was Expenditure Secretary when he was appointed LG, sent in his resignation on Wednesday evening and President Ram Nath Kovind accepted it, following which the appointment of Sinha (61), a three-time MP who lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, was initiated.</p>.<p>"The President has accepted the resignation of Girish Chandra Murmu as Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The President has been pleased to appoint Manoj Sinha, to be the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office vice Girish Chandra Murmu," a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said.</p>.<p>Murmu's resignation came on the first anniversary of government's decision to revoke special status of Jammu and Kashmir. He is speculated to take over as CAG when the incumbent Rajiv Mehrishi retires this week. </p>.<p>On Wednesday evening, there were intense speculations that Mehrishi may be headed to Jammu and Kashmir Raj Bhavan but with Sinha's appointment, it has been put to rest. </p>.<p>The outgoing LG, who was appointed on October 25 and took over six days later when the Union Territory came into being, was recently in news for advocating the restoration of 4G services in Jammu and Kashmir, at a time the matter is in the Supreme Court and putting the Centre in a spot. The Election Commission also objected to his repeated remarks about the schedule of polls in the union territory.</p>.<p>Sinha's appointment came as a surprise to many while it was the return of a politician to the Kashmir Raj Bhavan. Former chief minister Omar Abdullah summed up on Twitter, “last night there were one or two names that people were circulating as a done deal and this name wasn’t among them. You can always trust this government to pull an unexpected name out of the hat contrary to anything the “sources” had planted earlier.”</p>.<p>One who loves to keep a low-profile, Sinha enjoys the trust of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. After the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he was speculated to become the Chief Minister but Yogi Adityanath was chosen later.</p>.<p>Alumni of the Benaras Hindu University from where he graduated in Civil Engineering, he is an agriculturist who won from Ghazipur thrice but lost last time. </p>
