Exclusive! Prez appoints AP's Narasimhan as doyen of governors

President Pratibha Patil has nominated Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan as the doyen of governors to discharge various responsibilities and conduct the three-day conference of governors starting on October 29 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Apart from President Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union cabinet ministers will participate in the conference. Agricultural production, terrorism, land reforms, women's empowerment and nuclear safety are on the agenda at this meet.

Law Minister Salman Khurshid is expected to present a special status paper on the role of the judiciary.

Selection of the doyen of governors is a process with guidelines. It is mandatory that the governor selected should be the seniormost. He/she should have held the charge of at least two states and completed his/her tenure, as per the guidelines.

The duties of the doyen of governors is to preside over informal sessions of the conference and initiate discussions.

It may be noted that at 65, Narasimhan is the youngest among the governors; his counterparts are above 75 years of age.  

At the 2009 governors' conference, DPN Sahay, an Indian Police Service officer, was chosen as the doyen.