Mizoram made 'dumping ground' of Kerala BJP leaders: Congress, Mizo student body

Aizawl: With P S Sreedharan Pillai, BJP president of Kerala, appointed the 15th governor of Mizoram, the Congress and Mizoram's apex student body Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) on Saturday said the Centre has made the state a "dumping ground of Kerala BJP leaders".

Pillai was appointed Mizoram governor by President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday. Sources in the Raj Bhavan here said the information about the swearing-in of Pillai is awaited.

Pillai is the second Kerala BJP state president to be appointed as Mizoram governor after his predecessor Kummanam Rajasekharan had resigned from his post on March 8 to contest the Lok Sabha polls as a candidate of the saffron party after serving in Mizoram for just 10 months.

"As the BJP is failing to influence the people of Mizoram, it is trying to enter the state through back door by using the governors," state Congress spokesperson Lallianchhunga said.

MZP president L Ramdinliana Renthlei, on the other hand, said while the student body welcomes the appointment of a "regular governor", it does not want the state to be used as a "dumping ground of governors".

"We do not want the Raj Bhavan at Aizawl to be a musical chair of the politicians," he said.

UPA-appointed governor Vakkom B Purushothaman had resigned on July 11, 2014 after he was transferred to Nagaland.

Purushothaman was replaced by Kamla Beniwal who was sacked by the Centre in August that year.

Since then over the past five years Mizoram has had eight governors – including three who had taken additional charge. None of them completed their terms.

Prior to the appointment of Pillai, Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi was holding additional charge of Mizoram since March.