By IANS,
Lucknow : B.L. Joshi, who was Tuesday sworn in as the new governor of Uttar Pradesh, said he would throw open the doors of the Raj Bhavan to the public.
Joshi succeeds T.V. Rajeshwar, who bid farewell to Lucknow’s Raj Bhavan Monday after completing a full-term here. He has earlier been governor of Uttarakhand and Meghalaya and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
The oath of office was administered by Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Chandra Mauli Kumar Prasad at the Durbar Hall of Raj Bhavan.
“I have no intention of shutting the doors of Raj Bhawan, but surely we have to abide by certain limitations and constraints,” Joshi said while talking to reporters later.
Asked if he would alter the rules laid down by his predecessor Rajeshwar, who had apparently made the Governor’s House, inaccessible to the public, he replied: “I would not like to make any comment on my predecessor’s working.”
Joshi also ruled out the possibility of any clash with the state government.
“There are certain laid down practices and procedures of interaction with the government and I see no reason why there should be any cause for clash between the two,” he said in reply to a query.
While skirting a pointed query about his priorities, he said: “I am sure the government’s focus is on development of the state; sure enough that would be my priority too.”
When a reporter asked if he would travel across the state to get a first hand account of what was going on, Joshi said: “Sometimes it may not be necessary to visit a particular place; but what is more important is that one ought to be fully aware of the ground reality.”
Joshi was also particular about devoting his attention to necessary reforms in education.