JAMMU, Jul 14: After holding several key positions including as Deputy Chief Minister and Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta, who is poised to start a new innings as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, on Monday said that it is a challenging assignment and he will work together with everyone for the development of the region.
President Droupadi Murmu appointed Gupta as the new Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh on Monday.
“I am thankful to those who considered me worthy — be it the Honourable Prime Minister, the Honourable President, the Home Minister, or the national leadership — who have placed me in this position. I want to express my gratitude to all of them,” Gupta told reporters here.
He served as the Deputy Chief Minister of J-K from April 30, 2018, in the BJP-PDP government headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Gupta said there are “certainly challenges involved, but I accept them. I will try my best to serve the Union Territory.” The BJP leader, who also served as Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly from 2014, said, “This is a big responsibility, and I am confident of fulfilling it sincerely. We will work together with everyone (for the development of the region).” Hailing from Jammu city’s Janipur area, 66-year-old Gupta served as the Mayor of Jammu for a record three consecutive terms from 2005 to 2010 He served as general secretary of the BJP’s state unit and headed the J-K unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) for two consecutive terms from 1993 to 1998.
Gupta was elected as an MLA for the first time from the Gandhi Nagar constituency, defeating sitting Congress minister Raman Bhalla in the 2014 Assembly elections.
Following the PDP-BJP alliance’s victory in the 2014 Assembly elections, Gupta was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the House.
Gupta, who earlier also served as secretary of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), spent about 13 months in jail during the Emergency as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker.
