ITANAGAR, Feb 16: Former Commander of Army’s Northern Command, Lieutenant General (Retd) Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik on Thursday took oath as the 20th Governor of the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh.
He was administered the oath of office by Gauhati High Court’s Judge, Justice Nani Tagia in a ceremony held at the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan here.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Speaker Pasang Dorjee Sona were among the dignitaries who attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Later, the Governor inspected the state guard of honour in front of the main building of Raj Bhavan.
Lt General (Retd) KT Parnaik was appointed as the new Governor of Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday.
He replaced incumbent Brig (Retd) Dr BD Mishra, who has been appointed as the Lt Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Born on June 28, 1953, Lt Gen Parnaik, an alumnus of Sainik School Rewa and National Defence Academy, was commissioned in 2 Rajputana Rifles on March 31, 1972, which he later commanded at Udaipur in Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir.
A decorated officer, who served the Army for more than four decades, Parnaik commanded 104 Infantry Brigade during Operation Parakram on the Line of Control, 17 Mountain Division in Sikkim, Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) in Bhutan and 4 Corps in the North East.
The General Officer held the prestigious appointment of the GOC-in-C, Northern Command from 1 January 11 to 30 June 2013. He succeeded Lt Gen BS Jaiswal as Army Commander, Northern Command.
Lt Gen Parnaik held a number of prestigious staff appointments including Additional Director-General, Military Intelligence at the Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army). He has also held various instructional appointments at the Indian Military Academy, IMTRAT and Army War College, Mhow.
Earlier, the Governor-designate Lt Gen (Retd) Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik landed at the Raj Bhawan helipad here to a warm welcome by Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Assembly Speaker Pasang Dorjee Sona, Dy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and other Cabinet colleagues, and top State Govt officials.
“I heartily welcome Hon' Governor (designate) of Arunachal Pradesh, Lt General Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik ji, PVSM, UYSM, YSM (retd) to the land of Dawnlit Mountains. I'm confident that under his guidance, our State will continue to flourish & expedite all our developmental goals,” Dy CM Chowna Mein stated in a tweet.
Earlier in the morning, the CM along with the Speaker and his Cabinet colleagues gave a warm send-off to Brig (Retd) Dr BD Mishra and his wife Neelam Mishra at the Donyi Polo Airport. “As Governor, Brig Mishra always guided us to serve the state in the best possible manner,” Khandu wrote on his Twitter handle. (UNI)