Manoj Sinha appointed new LG of Jammu and Kashmir as GC Murmu resigns from post

Former Union minister and BJP leader Manoj Sinha has been appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted the resignation of Girish Chandra Murmu as the LG of Jammu and Kashmir.

Manoj Sinha was former Minister of State for Railways and later held an independent charge of Ministry of Communication.The BJP leader has thrice represented the party in Parliament.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah has said, “Last night there were one or two names that people were circulating as a done deal & 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.”

Manoj Sinha will assume charge as the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir following the resignation of GC Murmu on the first anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 in J&K.

According to sources, J&K L-G GC Murmu sent his resignation letter to the Centre on Wednesday evening and will vacate his post immediately. Murmu is currently in Jammu and will leave for Delhi on Thursday.

The communique issued by the President's press secretary Ajay Kumar said "the President has been pleased to appoint Shri Manoj Sinha, to be the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office" in place of Murmu.

Manoj Sinha was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996 and repeated the term in 1999. Sinha has been a member of the BJP national council from 1989 to 1996.

He was elected to the Lower House for a third term in national politics when the BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.