ELECTION 99
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Ved Marwah to take over as Manipur governor on Thursday

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Former chief of National Security Guards and former commissioner of Delhi police, Ved Marwah will take over as governor of Manipur on Thursday December 2. He would fly into the state on the same day and be formally sworn in the same afternoon by the chief justice of Guwahati high court.

He will be taking over from O N Srivastav, former IB sleuth who took over as governor under controversial circumstances before he was shifted to Manipur. Marwah told rediff.com this morning that he was looking forward to his new assignment but refused to elaborate further. "You call me in Manipur after I am formally sworn in. I will then be able to spell out my priorities and constitutional obligations," he promised.

When his appointment as governor of Manipur was announced by Rashtrapati Bhavan, Marwah was in Switzerland on an assignment. "I never knew I was in contention for a governor's post. I had refused to become advisor to the Bihar governor when the state was brought under President's rule last year. I was in fact sounded out and I told them that I was not interested in the job because I had a lot of writing assignments on hand," said Marwah with a pleasing smile.

"I was in Switzerland when I got a call from Home Minister L K Advani who complained that I had left the country without leaving behind a contact telephone number. I told him that since I was no longer a government servant, there was no need for me to tell anyone about my travel plans. He then told me the government had decided to appoint me as one of the governors and they needed my approval before announcing it to the press. I am still wondering if I did the correct thing because I had become used to a civilian life and I suddenly find myself in new setup," he said.

Sources close to the governor-designate said the former cop had come into the reckoning when he was made convenor of the sub-committee on internal security.

The appointment of a tough administrator as Manipur governor does indicate that the Centre wants to give top priority to dealing with the growing menace of insurgency in the North-Eastern states. Though Manipur faced a bit of insurgency in the last couple of years, it is more or less settled. But the continuing feud between the Meitei and the Kukkis still continues to shake the state administration from time to time. Marwah's experience in dealing with insurgency could help the state government. Besides, he believes in having a human face in his dealings with insurgents. "One should deal with the insurgents with compassion as well, if it could solve the problem," he believes. But this does not mean that he cannot take a tough stand as and when required.

Tell us what you think of this report