Hooda likely to take over as new J&K Guv after Amarnath Yatra

Jammu, June 20: With J&K Governor Nagendra Nath Vohra’s term coming to an end in the last week of this month, it is expected that he will remain in the office till the annual Shri Amaranth Yatra concludes and thereafter likely to be replaced by the former Lt Gen Deependra Singh Hooda.

Born on November 12, 1956, Gen Hooda is having expertise on Kashmir issues. He had not only served as GoC of Nagrota-based White Knight (16 Corps) Corps but also as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command. He held this post during the Surgical Strike in September 2016.

“The term of Mr Vohra will be over by the end of June but at present when the Amarnath Yatra is all set to begin on June 28, Centre cannot afford to replace him with new face,” top official sources here told UNI.

The sources added that Mr Vohra would continue as Jammu and Kashmir Governor till 58-day long Amarnath Yatra concluding on August 26. Sources said that the central government would like Mr Vohra to be in charge of the annual pilgrimage given his vast experience.

Born on May 5, 1936, Mr Vohra, who presently is Jammu and Kashmir Governor since 2008, is a retired 1959 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre. He is the 12th and first civilian Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in 18 years after Mr Jagmohan.

Mr Vohra, who was appointed Governor in June 2008 and given a fresh term in 2013, is among the few Governors appointed by the UPA Government to have continued in his position in the BJP-led NDA dispensation.

The conduct of the annual pilgrimage has been a high-security exercise and the deteriorating condition in the Valley has heightened the threat perception this year.

Jammu and Kashmir has come under Governor’s rule on seven occasions before in the last four decades and an eighth spell looks imminent with the collapse of the PDP-BJP alliance.

Also, if such a scenario emerges with prospects of a new government unlikely it will be for the fourth time that the state will be placed under central rule during Mr Vohra’s tenure as Governor.

Sources said that there were five names in the panel for the top post, which are: Lt Gen DS Hooda, Maj Gen GD Bakshi, Lt Gen Ata Hasnain, Gen Bikramjit Singh (all retired Army officers) and Dineshwar Sharma, who was appointed special representative to the Jammu and Kashmir by the Centre.

“There are reports that the Centre has finalised the name of Lt Gen (retired) Mr DS Hooda as next Governor of Jammu and Kashmir but he will take over only after Amarnath Yatra is over,” sources added.

Pertinent to mention here is that the BJP on Tuesday pulled out of the state government after breaking alliance with the PDP claiming that the former Chief Minister and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti wanted “Operational Ceasefire” announced in Ramzan to be extended.

Lt Gen Hooda is most prominently known for his views on Kashmir with a strong emphasis on human rights. With a career spanning forty years, he has served on both the Northern and Eastern borders of India.

He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune and was commissioned into the Indian Army on December 15, 1976. He spent his early career in the 4th Battalion of the 4th Gorkha Rifles, which he later commanded. He retired on November 30, 2016 after nearly 40 years of service in the Indian Army.