Jung Says Fully Convinced Of Modi’s Secular Values, Believes He Wants To Take Minorities Along

A day after he resigned, the central government looked for a successor to Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung who on Friday said he had offered to quit twice earlier but was told to carry on until Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally gave him the "go ahead" two days ago.

Jung told The Indian Express that he was “completely convinced” of the Prime Minister’s “secular values as far as Hindu-Muslim relations are concerned”. “I believe he wants to take the minorities along,” the Express quoted Jung saying. The Indian Express also reported Jung saying that he never received so much cooperation and guidance from anybody other than Modi in his 35-year tenure as an administrator.

"In 2014, when Modi was sworn in, I met him and requested him that since I was a Congress appointee, I would like to resign. The Prime Minister said no, please continue," Jung told India Today TV.

He said he repeated his offer to resign in July this year when his turf war with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the administration of the national capital was at its peak. "This July when I finished three years in office, I called the Prime Minister again (and) expressed my desire to leave," Jung said. "The Prime Minister again asked me to continue."

Those being considered to replace Jung include former Home Secretaries Anil Baijal, G.K. Pillai and former Delhi Police chief B.S. Bassi, who too had a running fued with Kejriwal.

Jung was appointed the Lt. Governor on July 9, 2013 when the Congress-led UPA was in power. The Modi government retained him even as it replaced most governors in other states. The 65-year-old former bureaucrat and vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia quit on Thursday. He said he would return to academics, his first love.

With inputs from IANS.