Maharashtra cabinet bids farewell to Sankaranarayanan

Mumbai, Aug 27: Outgoing Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan and his wife Radha were on Wednesday given an emotional farewell by the state cabinet led by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Several members of the cabinet led by the Chief Minister lined up to express their wishes and offered bouquets to Sankaranarayanan and his wife at the Sahyadri State Guest House at Malabar Hill this morning.

In his farewell speech, a visibly moved Sankaranarayanan thanked the state government for giving him "more than 100 per cent support" during his tenure of four-and-a-half years. He also thanked the people of Maharashtra for giving him warmth and affection during his tenure, a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.

Chavan in his speech appreciated the work done by the Governor in areas such as welfare of the disadvantaged people, higher education and development. He said the state government benefited immensely from the wise counsel provided by Sankaranarayanan to him and to his cabinet colleagues, especially during the difficult times.

Chavan said that in his personal capacity too, he will miss the advice and guidance of Sankaranarayanan and wished him a healthy and active life in the service of society.

A guard of honour was presented to Sankaranarayanan by the Mumbai Police on the occasion. Soon after the farewell, Sankaranarayanan and his wife left for their home town Palaghat in Kerala.

C Vidyasagar Rao from Andhra Pradesh has been named as the new Governor of Maharashtra. Om Prakash Kohli, Governor of Gujarat, is presently holding the additional charge of the post of Governor of Maharashtra.

PTI