NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday appointed the veteran RSS leader Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde as the new governor of Rajasthan.
Hailing from Aurangabad, Bagde has also served as the first BJP speaker of Maharashtra assembly in 2014.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi called me yesterday informing me that I would have to go out of Maharashtra. He also asked me to not reveal it to anyone,” he told reporters according to PTI.
“I have been associated with the RSS since I was 12-13 and completed its three-year course. Till 1980 I was with the Jana Sangh. I like taking up challenges. I may have been chosen for this post because of my work in the party for so may years,” he added.
The 79-year-old first became an MLA in 1985, serving Phulambri for five terms. When the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition came to power in 1995, he was appointed minister for the employment guarantee scheme. In 2014, after Fadnavis became chief minister, Bagde was named assembly speaker.
“I have never asked for any post. The state leadership of the party may have suggested my name for governorship. I will try to do full justice to the new assignment,” he said.
He informed that he was the first in his family, known for its social work, to receive formal education. Although he initially wanted to pursue a job, his RSS mentor advised him to get involved in farming, which became his lifelong passion.
Hailing from Aurangabad, Bagde has also served as the first BJP speaker of Maharashtra assembly in 2014.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi called me yesterday informing me that I would have to go out of Maharashtra. He also asked me to not reveal it to anyone,” he told reporters according to PTI.
“I have been associated with the RSS since I was 12-13 and completed its three-year course. Till 1980 I was with the Jana Sangh. I like taking up challenges. I may have been chosen for this post because of my work in the party for so may years,” he added.
The 79-year-old first became an MLA in 1985, serving Phulambri for five terms. When the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition came to power in 1995, he was appointed minister for the employment guarantee scheme. In 2014, after Fadnavis became chief minister, Bagde was named assembly speaker.
“I have never asked for any post. The state leadership of the party may have suggested my name for governorship. I will try to do full justice to the new assignment,” he said.
He informed that he was the first in his family, known for its social work, to receive formal education. Although he initially wanted to pursue a job, his RSS mentor advised him to get involved in farming, which became his lifelong passion.