Kataria takes oath as Punjab governor, says post not decorative

Chandigarh, Jul 31 (PTI) BJP veteran Gulab Chand Kataria Wednesday took oath as the Governor of Punjab and Administrator Chandigarh and asserted that these posts were not just decorative but for serving people.

Speaking to reporters after taking oath, Kataria, who replaces Banwarilal Purohit, also said that he will visit border areas and also review the works of the state government.

Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu administered the oath of office to Kataria, 79, at a ceremony in Raj Bhavan.

Kataria, who took the oath in Hindi, is the 37th governor of Punjab.

He said the President has entrusted an important responsibility upon him and he will try his best to serve the people of the state.

"I will make all efforts to carry it out like a good public servant. These posts are not decorations. They are for serving people. In 40-45 years of my political sphere, I have done work considering service as my religion. Here also, I will try how can I be helpful in addressing the problems of a common man. I will hear them out and anybody can come here," Kataria said in reply to a question.

"From the beginning, my nature has always been to work in coordination with all. I think we may be fighting elections from different parties but our only objective is to serve people. I will make efforts to follow that religion," he said.

To another question, Kataria said, "Definitely, I will visit border areas, will go to every district and will also review the works of the Centre and the state government. To take them (work) forward, will also give suggestions to the concerned district collector so that we can collectively do people's work in an efficient way." While welcoming Kataria, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called him an experienced leader.

"He (Kataria) has immense experience. He remained a minister in the Rajasthan government and we will use his experience and work together for the benefit of people," he said.

Earlier, Punjab Chief Secretary Anurag Verma read out the warrants of appointment of Kataria as the governor of the state.

Kataria arrived at the Guru Nanak Dev Auditorium of Punjab Raj Bhavan in a ceremonial procession. He was accompanied by the chief justice of the high court.

Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Punjab CM Mann, former Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore and several Punjab ministers, including Harpal Singh Cheema and Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, were present at the ceremony.

Kataria's wife Anita Kataria and other family members, and CM Mann's wife Gurpreet Kaur were also present at the event.

Hailing from Udaipur, Kataria had served as Rajasthan home minister twice -- from 2004 to 2008 and 2015 to 2018 -- and had also served as leader of opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly.

The BJP veteran, an eight-time former MLA, had also served as education, public works, panchayati raj, rural development and disaster management minister.

Before being appointed as the Punjab governor, Kataria was the governor of Assam. He became the Assam governor in February 2023.

Born on October 13, 1944, Kataria did his Masters degree in geography from Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur. He also studied law at the same university. PTI CHS VSD KVK KVK