The Kerala Raj Bhavan created history as an acting Chief Justice of the High Court administered oath of office of Governor to a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Palaniappan Sathasivam was sworn in this morning as the 23rd Governor of Kerala by Ashok Bhushan, acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala.
The Opposition chose to boycott the ceremony in line with their argument that the choice of the new Governor had not just beaten the best of traditions but was also bereft of minimum logic.
Also, the warrant of precedence was violated twice here, its argument went, in first having a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court take over as Governor and, second, an acting Chief Justice of a lower court preside over the ceremony.
This had set a glaringly awkward precedent that could have been best avoided, the Opposition said.
The ruling Congress-led Government and the State unit of the Congress had expressed strong reservations about the manner in which the Centre had gone ahead with the choice of Sathasivam as the new Governor.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had gone on record saying that he was not consulted in the matter but chose to hold further fire.
The Governor-designate arrived in the State Capital late last night and was received at the airport by the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, and City Mayor K Chandrika, among others.
Earlier in the day, incumbent Sheila Dikshit was given a guard of honour by the State Police after she left the State ending a three-month-long tenure at the Raj Bhavan.