BHUBANESWAR: Newly appointed Governor Braj Mohan Ram will arrive in the state capital on Saturday, a day ahead of his scheduled swearing-in on October 18. A special aircraft arranged by the state government will fly in the Governor-designate from Jharkhand to Bhubaneswar.
On Sunday, around 600 guests and invitees are likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony at Lok Bhavan here. The Home department has been asked to appoint a nodal officer and coordinate with Lok Bhavan to make necessary arrangements for the incoming Governor’s guests.
Initially, a request had been placed for accommodation of 300 guests accompanying the Governor-designate for his swearing-in. A letter communicated by the Lok Bhavan to the Home department on October 14 (seen by TNIE) had sought lodging and boarding facility for the guests for four days from October 17 to 20. The Home department had also been proposed to appoint a nodal officer for the purpose.
However, the idea was dropped subsequently and it was conveyed to make arrangements for 300-plus guests and invitees to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
Sources said, arrangements are now being made for close to 200 guests to be accommodated in four hotels of the city apart from Circuit House and OTDC. Over 80 rooms are being reserved in the four hotels for this purpose, reportedly by the Parliamentary Affairs department.
It is reliably learnt that the Home department is making arrangements at Lok Bhavan for guests and invitees whose number could be in excess of 600 for the swearing-in ceremony.
A three-time Lok Sabha MP from Palamu in Jharkhand, Ram was appointed Governor of Odisha by President Droupadi Murmu on October 12.
Ram has already landed in a political row even before taking oath over his remarks suggesting that he would work to strengthen the BJP’s Scheduled Caste (SC) Morcha in the state after assuming office as the Governor and help the party garner more votes. He later backtracked amid a sharp backlash.
Following the uproar, Ram clarified that his statement had been misconstrued. “I did not say this. I said that I will work in coordination with everyone. I am above party politics now, but the party I belong to is my capital. I will always have affinity and love for that party. But I will not work for any particular party. Hum sabke hain, sab hamare hain (I belong to everyone, and everyone belongs to me),” he said.