3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 12, 2026 03:06 AM IST
Veteran diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu took charge as the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Delhi on Wednesday. Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sandhu in the presence of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and other dignitaries at Raj Niwas.
Shortly after taking oath, Sandhu (63) said there were many challenges to overcome, “but we have to turn those challenges into opportunities”.
He said he would work with the Government of India, the governments of Delhi and neighbouring states, and the people of Delhi to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a “Viksit Dilli” and a “Viksit Bharat”.
“Delhi has many stakeholders, including you and me. Delhi has been my land of origin, and I did my college and university here, and worked here. It is the duty of all of us to work together for the development of Delhi,” Sandhu said.
The LG, who has replaced Vinai Kumar Saxena in the post, studied at St Stephen’s College and went to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He began his career with the Indian Foreign Service in 1988.
“I welcome LG sir. I believe Delhi will grow faster with your support,” Chief Minister Gupta said.
Besides Gupta and her ministerial colleagues Parvesh Sahib Singh, Kapil Mishra, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, and Ashish Sood, several other dignitaries attended the swearing-in.
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Among those present were Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra, judges of the Delhi High Court, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, and senior bureaucrats including Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma.
Also present at the ceremony were the United States Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, High Commissioner of Australia Philip Green, High Commissioner of Bangladesh M Riaz Hamidullah, and several other envoys to New Delhi.
Sandhu thanked President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah for entrusting him with the responsibility. He later went to Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi and visited Gurdwara Sri Rakab Ganj and the Hanuman Mandir at Connaught Place.
The LG has had a long and distinguished career as a diplomat, and was India’s Ambassador to the United States from 2020 to 2024 during the first Trump Administration. He has deep experience in India’s diplomatic relationship with the US, having served four assignments in that country.
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Sandhu’s appointment is seen as being in line with Prime Minister Modi’s vision of transforming Delhi into a world capital, political and diplomatic sources had told The Indian Express earlier.
“We have to take Delhi to that goal, so that wherever you go, you can happily say that this is our capital. In this, there is an elected government, elected by the people, it is their responsibility, and along with them, we all are stakeholders,” Sandhu said.
“As you all know, Delhi’s population is expanding,” he said. “You also know what the challenges are. But look around the world, challenges exist elsewhere too, but it’s our duty to turn those challenges into opportunities. We will work in that direction.”
