Amid protests in Delhi and Dehradun, senior BJP leader and former National General Secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam was sworn in as the 19th Governor of Sikkim today.
The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Justice A Muhamed Mustaque, Chief Justice of the High Court of Sikkim, at a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in Gangtok.
Chief Secretary R Telang read out the President’s Warrant of Appointment. After the oath, Gautam signed the formal oath of office.
The ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, Council of Ministers, Speaker of Sikkim Legislative Assembly, Lok Sabha MPs Indra Hang Subba and Raju Bista, High Court judges, Mayor of Gangtok, representatives of Army, Central agencies and senior officials.
President Droupadi Murmu appointed Gautam on 12 October 2026, succeeding Om Prakash Mathur who has been transferred as Governor of Kerala.
His appointment comes amid huge protests. Congress and Uttarakhand organizations allege he is the “VIP” in Ankita Bhandari murder case. His name surfaced in an audio clip allegedly of former MLA Suresh Rathore that went viral last December. No charge or evidence has been officially reported against him. CBI has registered a separate case to probe the VIP angle and is questioning Rathore.
Protesters at India Gate on Sunday demanded his oath be deferred till CBI probe is complete. Rahul Gandhi has written to the President to reconsider.
The new Governor of Uttarakhand is Dhal Singh Bisen, former MP from Balaghat, MP. He was also appointed on 12 October and will succeed Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd).
