Ram Naik on 22 July 2014 was sworn in as 27th Governor of Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow. He is a former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Maharashtra.
The oath of secrecy was administered by the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.
Ram Naik succeeded B L Joshi who resigned from the post of Governor resigned in June 2014. Till the swearing in of Ram Naik, Governor of Uttarakhand Aziz Qureshi held the additional charge of Uttar Pradesh.
He was appointed as Governor of UP by the President Pranab Mukherjee on 14 July 2014.
About Ram Naik
- He was the Union Cabinet Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Ram in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government from 1999 to 2004.
- After the creation of Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry in 1963, he holds the distinction of being the only minister to complete full five years as Petroleum and Natural gas minister in one government.
- He was responsible for introducing 5kg cylinders to the needs of families in lower income group in hilly regions as well as urban slums.
- He also introduced CNG in Delhi and Mumbai so as to reduce pollution emitted by diesel-run vehicles.
- As a Minister of State for Railways in 1998 under Vajpayee government, he got established the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporationfor providing facilities to 76 lakh commuters of the world’s most over-crowded suburban trains in Mumbai.
- He founded Goregaon Pravasi Sangh in 1964 for organizing suburban commuters in Mumbai.
- He was also responsible for starting Special Ladies Local Trains in Mumbai for the first time in world.
- He got elected as Member of Parliament successively for five terms from North Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency as BJP candidate.
- He created a new record for getting elected as BJP MP from Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency for eight times.
- He is a law graduate from Kishinchand Chellaram College in Mumbai.
- He wrote a book titled Saga of Struggles that narrates the case of rehabilitation of people affected from Tarapur Atomic Power Project III and IV. The book is translated version of his original Marathi bookGatha Sangharshachi.
- He was born on 16 April 1934 at Sangli in Maharashtra.