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Kohima, March 10: The Centre has appointed a former top sleuth of the country as the governor of Nagaland with perhaps two purposes in mind — to check increasing corruption and tackle militancy.
Militancy and corruption have been eating into the very roots of Naga society, with the common people bearing the brunt. Now, with the appointment of former CBI director Ashwani Kumar as the state’s governor, there is hope that he would perform his constitutional duties keeping the interests of the common people in mind.
The governor may be a constitutional head whose primary role is to advise the state government but he can also put in place checks and balances to ensure that the state government treads carefully and performs well.
Kumar, who is the first CBI head to be appointed governor, has the Herculean task of tackling the deeply ingrained scourges of corruption and militancy in the state.
Given the fact that several corruption cases are pending with different agencies, including the state’s vigilance department, people will be expecting a lot of Kumar, who will be taking over from incumbent governor Nikhil Kumar in a few days.
So far, Nagaland has had 12 governors. Of these, Shyamal Datta, former director of Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), who took office in January 2002, could be said to be the best head of state Nagaland ever had. A good orator and an intellectual, he visited every nook and corner of the state and could grasp what people wanted. He was popular among all sections of people in the state.
Datta was followed by K. Wilson (February 3 to 4, 2007), K. Sankaranarayanan (February 4, 2007 to July 28, 2009), Gurbachan Jagat, retired IPS (July 28, 2009 to October 14, 2009) and Nikhil Kumar, retired IPS (October 15, 2009, till date).
The incumbent governor, a former Delhi Police commissioner, received several letters from organisations and political parties on alleged corruption and anomalies, but could not take any concrete action. He headed the state mostly from outside Nagaland.
With many past governors becoming victims of political influence, it remains to be seen whether the new one would remain free of these shackles.
The Naga Mothers’ Association, which has been fighting for the rights of Naga women as well as corruption, has welcomed the new governor and expressed full confidence that he would deliver justice. “He was effective as a CBI director. He must take up pending cases of accountability and work for a corruption-free Nagaland,” the association’s adviser, Rosemary Dzuvichu, said.
The Congress, too, has welcomed the new governor and expressed hope that he would deliver justice to the people.
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