President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday appointed new Governors of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand. According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who was holding additional charge as Punjab Governor, will now be the full-fledged Governor. Nagaland Governor RN Ravi will be the new Governor of Tamil Nadu, and Assam Professor Jagdish Mukhi will hold additional charge of Nagaland "until regular arrangements are made".

The President has also accepted the resignation of Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya, and appointed Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (retd) in her place, the communique said. All these appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices, it said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday greeted RN Ravi over his appointment as the Governor of the state, wishing that his arrival to Tamil Nadu encouraged its growth and prosperity. He also extended a "loving and respectful" farewell to outgoing Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Ravi, the Union government's interlocutor and a retired IPS officer, was shifted from Nagaland to Tamil Nadu as its new Governor. In his message, Stalin greeted Ravi over his appointment. "Let your arrival encourage Tamil Nadu's growth and prosperity," he said in a tweet. "Tamil Nadu welcomes you," he added.

Further, Stalin said, "We are bidding farewell to Purohit with love and respect," and recalled the cordial ties he shared with the latter, both as Leader of Opposition earlier and Chief Minister now. He wished Purohit's "large heartedness" benefited Punjab.

RN Ravi is a native of Bihar and a retired IPS officer from the 1976 batch of Kerala cadre. He was in the news in June this year after it was reported that the Nagaland government asked two of its women employees posted in Delhi to vacate their official quarters so that the Governor could retain a bungalow that was allotted to him when he served as the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee.

With IANS and PTI inputs