Ram Nath Kovind sworn in as new Governor of Bihar

Patna: Former Rajya Sabha member and a dalit leader Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday was sworn in as new Governor of Bihar.

Acting Chief Justice of Patna High Court Iqbal Ahmad Ansari administered oath to Kovind as the 36th Governor of Bihar at a function at Raj Bhawan.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was present at the function.

On the sidelines of the occasion when mediapersons sought his comment on the new governor, Kumar said "I welcome him to the state."

Kovind, two term Rajya Sabha member and chief of BJP SC&ST wing earlier, hails from Uttar Pradesh. Union minister of state Vijay Sapla and a host of BJP leaders including Sushil Kumar Modi, Nand Kishore Yadav, Manoj Tiwari and state President Mangal Pandey attended the swearing in ceremony.

Kovind was appointed as new Governor of Bihar on August 8 by President Pranab Mukherjee. Earlier, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi was holding the additional charge of Bihar.