Amid widespread protests by Ladakh bodies in support of their ongoing agitation for statehood, the union territory on Sunday got a new lieutenant governor after President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of current LG Radha Krishnan Mathur.
The President appointed Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (retd) as the lieutenant governor of Ladakh.
“The President of India has accepted the resignation of Radha Krishnan Mathur as lieutenant governor of Ladakh,” the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a communication.
Mishra was the governor of Arunachal Pradesh before the latest appointment.
The official website of Arunachal Pradesh governor mentions that Mishra is a retired brigadier of the Indian Army and former commander of the counter-hijack unit of the National Security Guard (NSG), popularly known as Black Cats.
NSG commandos had led a surgical strike on a hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft and after successfully eliminating the hijacker, rescued 126 passengers, nine infants and six crew members at Raja Sansi airfield, Amritsar, in 1993.
Mishra had received commendation from the Prime Minister for this operation.
The appointment of Mishra comes at a time when Ladakh has been agitating against the Centre for its demand of statehood. Ladakh was given a union territory status in 2019 when it was separated from Jammu and Kashmir after the region stripped of its special status in 2019.
Two prominent bodies of Kargil and Leh – Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and Leh Apex Body (LAB) – have been leading the agitation and seeking protection of jobs and land under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, formation of a public service commission and creation of two parliament seats, one each for Kargil and Leh.
The two bodies have planned a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on February 15.
About BD Mishra
Born on July 20, 1939, in Uttar Pradesh, Mishra holds MA, MSc, LLB and PhD degrees. After his training at the Indian Military Academy, he was commissioned in Infantry, the Madras Regiment, in 1961, and retired on July 31, 1995, after an army career spreading over 33 years. He had fought during all three major wars — in 1962 against China, in 1965 against Pakistan, and in 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. He has also commanded an infantry battalion in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch sector from 1979 to 1981.
