SHIMLA: Shiv Pratap Shukla was sworn-in as the 29th Governor of Himachal Pradesh in a simple yet impressive ceremony held at Raj Bhawan here today. Acting Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice Sabina administered the oath of office and secrecy to him. Shiv Pratap Shukla took the oath in Sanskrit.
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Lady Governor Smt. Janki Shukla were also present on the occasion.
The Governor was also given an impressive Guard of Honour on the occasion.
Mukesh Agnihotri, Deputy Chief Minister, Kuldeep Pathania, Speaker, Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Jai Ram Thakur, Leader of Opposition and other ministers and dignatories were also present.
Later, while interacting with the representatives of the media, the Governor said that it was a higher post of the constitution and he would work in coordination with the State Government.
Expressing gratitude toward the President of India for his appointment as Governor of Himachal Pradesh, the Governor said that he would work in accordance with the Constitution.
He said that he would complete the works started by the previous governors and would also urge the Chief Minister to cooperate in completing those works on priority.
He said that Himachal Pradesh is a leading state in the field of education and now he would contribute towards quality education.
He said that he would travel most of the time by road only in H.P. so that he could know the problems of the people and understand Himachal more closely.
He said that Sanskrit is the mother of all languages and has taken this ritual forward by taking oath in 'Devbhasha' in Devbhoomi.
He said that he would also work for the skill development in the state so that the younger generation could be benefitted.
He expressed his concern over the growing illegal trade of drugs in Himachal Pradesh and said that this evil was rapidly taking our young generation, the future of the country, in its grip.
“The saddest situation is that today drugs have reached even in remote areas, which needs to be stopped”, said Shukla.
He said that Law and Police Administration work at their own level but there was a need to make society aware.
He added that it would be his endeavour to ensure the participation of every person by making the campaign of de-addiction more widespread through educational institutions and social organizations.
“Himachal is the land of gods and there should be no place for drugs here. I would also appeal for the cooperation of the media so that they become partners in my efforts in this direction.
Shri Shukla said that he was impressed by the hospitality of the people of the state.
In the early morning, the Governor before taking the Oath performed Yajana along with family members.
Shiv Pratap Shukla was born on 01.04.1952 in the village Rudrapur Post-Khajni of Gorakhpur district, did his graduation in law from Gorakhpur.
He worked as Sangathan Mantri of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
Politically, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1983. He was elected as a Janata Party candidate from Gorakhpur Nagar assembly constituency for the first time in the year 1989.
After that, he was re-elected in the year 1991 and took the charge of Minister of State independent charge of Basic Education, Adult Education and Language Department in the government of Kalyan Singh in Uttar Pradesh.
He was re-elected to the Vidhan Sabha in the year 1993. After being elected to the Vidhan Sabha for the fourth time in 1996, successfully discharged his duties as Cabinet Minister of the Prison, Law and Justice and Rural Development Department in the government of Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh. After this, on 10th June, 2016, he was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
On 3rd September, 2017, took over the responsibility of the Minister of State for Finance, Government of India in the Narendra Modi Government.
He successfully discharged his duties as a Rajya Sabha member till 4th July, 2022
