Om Prakash Mathur arrives in Kerala; oath-taking ceremony to take place today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala's Governor-designate Om Prakash Mathur arrived in the state capital on Thursday. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan led the delegation that welcomed him at the airport around 7 pm. Mathur will take the oath as Governor at 12.15 pm on Friday at the auditorium of Lok Bhavan. Kerala High Court Chief Justice Soumen Sen will administer the oath of office.

Mathur was previously the Governor of Sikkim. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, accompanied by ministers and a 75-member delegation, has arrived in Thiruvananthapuram to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Around 15 of Mathur's relatives have also reached the state capital. Mathur hails from Bedal in Rajasthan and is unmarried.

Speaker Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan, ministers Ramesh Chennithala and Sunny Joseph, Mayor V.V. Rajesh, MLA V. Muraleedharan and ADGPs P. Vijayan, Balram Kumar Upadhyaya and Dinesh Kashyap were among those present at the airport to welcome the new Governor. The police accorded Mathur a guard of honour. Welcoming him to 'God's Own Country', Chief Minister Satheesan honoured him with a traditional ponnada. The Speaker and ministers also presented him with bouquets.