M K Narayanan sworn in West Bengal Governor

Former national security advisor M K Narayanan was on Sunday sworn in as the West Bengal Governor by Calcutta High Court Chief Justice M S Shah at the 'Throne Room' of the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.

Speaking about his new assignment after the oath-taking, the former intelligence chief said, "I am a civil servant. So it came as a surprise to me. It is a high point in my career. I am confident of justifying my assignment by the President and the prime minister."

76-year-old Mayankote Kelath Narayanan, hailing from Palakkad district of Kerala, succeeds Gopal Krishna Gandhi.

From 1987 to 1990, Narayanan was chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB) before heading the Joint Intelligence Committee. He became the IB chief again in 1991 and retired in 1992. He was also Special Advisor for Internal Security to the PM.

On the task at hand, including issues on Left-wing extremism, the new Governor said, "Let me settle down first. I will talk to the chief minister. Let us see what can be done. With my years of experience, I am sure I would be able to help the administration solve the problem.

"I come from Kerala. People of Kerala and West Bengal have a lot in common. I shall explore more ways to be friendly."

Narayanan's oath-taking ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, his cabinet colleagues, WBPCC working president Pradip Bhattacharya, state BJP president Rahul Sinha, Speaker H A Halim and Leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee among others.

Chatterjee greeted him with a bouquet and wished him on behalf of his party (Trinamool Congress)chief Mamata Banerjee.
Later, Narayanan along with wife Padmini Narayanan met the dignitaries over a tea party.