Opposition boycotts Governor’s swearing-in ceremony
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Thiruvananthapuram: The LDF-led Opposition on Friday boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of new Governor P Sathasivam.
None of the LDF MLAs were present at the oath taking ceremony held at around 10 pm at the Raj Bhavan here.
The Left leaders defended the decision and told the media that act was to express their protest against the decision of the Central government to appoint a former chief justice of the Supreme Court the Governor of the State.
CPI-M leader M Vijayakumar, however, said that the MLAs gave the ceremony a miss because they did not get enough time to attend it. He added that the decision was not political.
Vijayakumar clarified that the LDF would not boycott any progammes attended by the Governor in future.
65-year-old Sathasivam, whose appointment triggered debate in legal and political circles on the propriety of giving gubernatorial assignment to a former CJI, is the 23rd Governor of the state.
He was administered the oath of office by Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice Ashok Bhushan, at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram.
He is the first Chief Justice of India to be appointed to the post which is lower in warrant of precedence to the CJI. He is also the first non-political person appointed for a gubernatorial post by the new NDA government.