Hyderabad: Former union minister Bandaru Dattatreya, appointed as Himachal Pradesh Governor, will take oath on September 5 at the state capital Shimla.
“With the blessings of Lord Ganesh, I will be reaching Shimla on September 4 and will be sworn in as Governor on September 5. I pray to God for the welfare of the people of Telangana and Himachal Pradesh,” he said after offering prayers at a local Ganesh pandal here.
Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya visited the Khairtabad Ganesh Pandal where he offered prayers. He addressed the media and said that he will be reaching Shimla on September 4 and will take oath on September 5th. He was given a rousing reception by Minister Talsini Srinivas Yadav and the Celebrations Committee.
It maybe recalled that Bandaru Dattatreya along with late BJP Leader Ale Narendar popularly known as Tiger Narendar were instrumental in starting Ganesh festivities in the twin cities on large scale.
Former Union minister Arif Mohammed Khan and senior BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya were appointed as Governors of Kerala and Himachal Pradesh respectively, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.
Senior BJP leaders Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Tamilisai Soundararajan were appointed as Governors of Maharashtra and Telangana respectively while former union minister Kalraj Mishra was appointed as the Rajasthan Governor.
It has been quite a wait for the 72-year-old, who was dropped from the Union Cabinet during the first tenure of the Narendra Modi government and was later denied a Lok Sabha ticket in the last general election from Secunderabad
Bandaru Dattatreya, who on was appointed as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, is known as a people’s leader in his native Telangana.
It has been quite a wait for the 72-year-old Mr. Dattatreya, who was dropped from the Union Cabinet during the first tenure of the Narendra Modi government and was later denied a Lok Sabha ticket in the last general election from Secunderabad, a seat he has won many times.
The former Union Minister was first elected in 1991 to the 10th Lok Sabha. He was elected a second time in 1998 and worked as the Union Minister of State, Urban Development under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He was re-elected in 1999 and served as both the Union Minister of State for Urban Development and the Railways. He is credited with bringing the Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) to Hyderabad.
Mr. Dattatreya was given the post of Minister with Independent Charge for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation in 2004. He was elected a fourth time to Parliament in 2014 and served in the Narendra Modi-led government as the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Labour and Employment.
Many thought his political career ended when he was denied the Lok Sabha ticket from Secunderabad this year. The present Union Minister of State for Home, G. Kishan Reddy, was given the seat.
Born on June 12, 1947, in Hyderabad, Mr. Dattatreya is a B.Sc. graduate from Osmania University, Hyderabad. He started as an RSS pracharak in 1968 and held positions in various related organizations. He was arrested under the controversial Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency.
He joined the BJP in 1980 and worked as the secretary for its Andhra Pradesh unit. He was then appointed general secretary from 1981 to 1989 and was the president of the Andhra Pradesh unit between 1996 and 1998. He served as the party president for a second time between 2006 and 2009.
During the Telangana movement, he started the Alai Bhalai program, where leaders from all political parties rubbed shoulders. The programme is a regular affair during Dasara.
Siasat News