New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS): Former chief justice of India P. Sathasivam was Wednesday appointed the new governor of Kerala, overriding criticism from the Congress as well as the legal fraternity.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said President Pranab Mukherjee had accepted the resignation of Sheila Dikshit, a former chief minister of Delhi and a Congress leader.

The communique said Sathasivam would be the governor "with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office".

Sheila Dikshit resigned as Kerala governor Aug 26.

A source from the Raj Bhavan in told IANS in Thiruvananthapuram that Sathasivam's swearing-in ceremony will take place at 9.30 a.m. Friday.

Dikshit will be given a farewell and a guard of honour at the airport here at 10.30 a.m. Friday, according to an official communication from the Kerala government.

The decision of the central government to appoint Sathasivam as Kerala governor evoked strong criticism from the state government and the Congress leadership.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the central government did not consult his government before taking the decision to appoint Sathasivam as governor.

The Congress termed the appointment "inappropriate" both on the part of the appointee and those appointing.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma slammed the government for patronising retired judges.

Opposition to Sathasivam's appointment has also came from his own fraternity.

Former chief justices of India, Justice A.M. Ahmadi, Justice G.B. Patnaik and Justice V.N. Khare expressed reservations over Sathasivam's appointment.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said in a statement Wednesday that the government's decision to appoint Sathasivam as the Kerala governor will set a wrong precedent.

"The position of Chief Justice of India is sacrosanct and certain restraints need to be observed, both by the government and by the individuals who have held this top position in the country's judiciary," the statement said.

Since the Narendra Modi government took charge May 26, eight governors have resigned - B.L. Joshi (Uttar Pradesh), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh), Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland), M.K. Narayanan (West Bengal), B.V. Wanchoo (Goa), Vakkom B. Purushothaman (Mizoram), K. Sankaranarayanan (Maharashtra) and Dikshit.

Kamla Beniwal was first shunted out from Gujarat to Mizoram and then sacked Aug 6 for misuse of her position as governor.

Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva and Karnataka Governor H.R. Bharadwaj managed to complete their tenures.

Four prominent BJP leaders were Aug 26 named governors of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa on a day Dikshit succumbed to pressure and put in her papers. Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan resigned Aug 25.

Cong distances from Manish Tewari's remarks on P Sathasivam

New Delhi, Sep 3 (PTI): Congress today distanced itself from the remarks made by its leader Manish Tewari on the government's move to appoint former Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam as Kerala governor and said it expects him to toe the party line.

Congress sources said if Tewari did not do so, the party would communicate to him in writing.Congress had yesterday slammed the move to appoint Sathasivam as the Governor and wondered whether the government was "pleased" with his judgement in the Amit Shah case.

However, Tewari today said there is "no constitutional or legal bar" on a former Chief Justice of India to accept the position of a governor.

He also said that in early 90s, Congress had brought a former CJI Ranganath Misra to the Rajya Sabha from Odisha.

Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said his views are "personal".She was asked if there was chaos or lack of clarity in Congress party on the issue. "There is no chaos. There is total clarity in Congress. When a spokesperson says anything, that is the official party line. We have made it absolutely crystal clear that whatever Ananad Sharma commented on former CJI being appointed a Governor is the official party line. And any other person speaking on various issues is his personal view," she said.

She said Tewari was just a panelist and not a spokesperson and has to articulate and "toe" party lines.

AICC Secretary Tom Vadakkan said a panelist's duty is to participate in debates.

"Panelist is somebody who attends television debates. He does not intervene or give opinions on matters. He is given an official line for discussion. The spokesperson is the voice of Congress party," he said.

Asked if any action would be taken against Tewari, she said it is the party's "internal matter" which will be looked into.

This is the latest in a series of instances where the party had to distance itself from the views expressed by its leaders.

The party had last week distanced itself from Janardan Dwivedi's comment regarding age bar on politicians even as another senior party colleague Digvijaya Singh supported him.