Anil Baijal to replace Najeeb Jung as capital's L-G

Former Union Home Secretary Anil Baijal has been appointed as the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, a post which has fallen vacant after sudden resignation of Najeeb Jung.The President accepted the resignation of Jung and also ordered for appointment of Baijal, who will be the 21st L-G of the national Capital.

Baijal, currently on the executive think tank of Vivekananda International Foundation, will be sworn on December 30. A 1969 batch IAS officer, Baijal had served as Union Home Secretary under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government besides holding key positions in other Ministries.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government on Wednesday recommended to the President, who is on his annual winter sojourn at Rashtrapathi Nilayam in Secunderabad, acceptance of Jung’s resignation.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted, “I welcome Shri #Anil Biajl as the Lt Governor of Delhi”. Her tweet ended all speculations about the new



incumbent of Raj Bhawan at Rajoura Road.

Baijal, who also served as the Vice-Chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), was actively associated with the designing and roll-out of Rs 60,000 crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched by the Manmohan Singh Government as Union Urban Development Secretary.The former bureaucrat was also on the executive council of the think-tank Vivekananda International Foundation, several of whose former members have been appointed to senior positions by the Modi Government, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

It may recalled that Jung had submitted his resignation on December 22, ending a nearly three-and-half-year-long eventful tenure, mostly marked by bitter confrontation with the AAP Government. Jung had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his resignation.

Jung’s office later clarified that he wants to pursue academics after demitting office.