Gen Sinha likely next J&K governor

Assam Governor Lieutenant General (retired) Srinivas Kumar Sinha could be the next governor of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior Cabinet minister told rediff.com in New Delhi on Thursday.

The appointment awaits Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's approval.

Sayeed wanted Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vijay Kapoor for the post. The government had finalised Kapoor's name, but Bharatiya Janata Party officials felt he should be retained in Delhi till the election in the National Capital Region in November.

"We have told New Delhi we would like Vijay Kapoor as governor of Jammu and Kashmir. A civilian governor would gel well with our government's healing touch policy," Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Muzaffar Beig told rediff.com in a telephone conversation from Srinagar.

Girish Chander Saxena, the current governor of Jammu and Kashmir, will retire after completion of his term on May 1.

The home ministry has been looking for an appropriate replacement for Saxena for some time.

Several names have been in circulation for the last six months. One name that found favour with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani was General Sunderrajan Padmanabhan, former chief of the army staff.

But Sayeed shot down the proposal, saying a governor with a military or intelligence background would not send the right signals to the public.

"We understand General Sinha would be more acceptable to Mufti than General Padmanabhan. General Sinha agreed to be shifted from Assam to Jammu and Kashmir after initial reluctance. But you never know -- there is always a slip between the cup and lip," quipped a senior Cabinet minister.

General Padmanabhan is likely to replace General Sinha as governor of Assam.