Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu on Wednesday put in his papers in the Wednesday evening and is likely to be appointed as the next Comptroller and Auditor General of India, sources said.
Indications are that he is likely to succeed Rajiv Mehrishi as the next CAG, when the latter retires at the end of August. Mehrishi may be sent to Jammu and Kashmir as Murmu’s replacement.
However, there was no official word on this. Murmu's resignation curiously came on the first anniversary of the Government revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Murmu was appointed the Lieutenant Governor in October 25 last year and took charge as the first LG of Jammu and Kashmir six days later when the union territory came into being after the state's bifurcation.
Earlier in the day, Army commander of Northern Command called on him to discuss the overall security management of the Union Territory,
Recently, Murmu was rapped by the Election Commission over his repeated statements on assembly polls in the Union Territory, asking him to refrain from infringing upon its constitutionally mandated prerogative.
Murmu was Expenditure Secretary in the Ministry of Finance when he was appointed LG of Kashmir.
A 1985-batch Gujarat cadre officer who hails from Odisha and set to retire November last year, Murmu was appointed Expenditure Secretary in March 2019. He is known for his implementation skills and was known to enjoy the trust and confidence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
A post-graduate in political science who also holds MBA degree, Murmu was also questioned by the CBI in 2013 in connection with the alleged fake encounter case involving the killing of Ishrat Jahan and three others who were said to be accused of being involved in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.