PATNA: When President-elect Ramnath Kovind was made governor of Bihar on August 8, 2015, even chief minister Nitish Kumar was critical of his appointment on the ground that he was not consulted by the Centre for it. However, over the course of time, Kovind not only cleared all pre-conceived notions about him among those in the state government, but also rose as a person of impeccable and unbiased character.The only time a minor controversy surrounding Kovind erupted was when he asked RJD chief Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav to repeat his oath after he mispronounced 'apekshit' as 'upekshit' during the swearing-in ceremony of the state's new cabinet on November 20, 2015. A few RJD functionaries had criticised Kovind for being "too harsh" on the first-timer in the Assembly.Kovind not only won the confidence of Nitish for his non-confrontational approach to politics, but also won the hearts of officials and employees of Raj Bhavan for his calm and humble nature as well as highly competent administrative skills. At Raj Bhavan, he lived with his wife Savita Kovind."We never saw Kovind becoming angry. He was, however, quite firm when it came to rules and matters of administration. Since he started his professional career as an advocate, Kovind has a strong grip over legal matters. He treated all the employees at Raj Bhavan with humility and even attended weddings of Grade III and IV staff when invited," said a Raj Bhavan official wishing anonymity.Kovind is known for living a simple lifestyle. He used to live in a rented apartment in New Delhi's Kalibari locality before becoming a Rajya Sabha member in 1994. Insiders at Raj Bhavan said Kovind is a voracious reader who only watches TV for news. "Kovind is a vegetarian and he likes south Indian food for breakfast and chapatis with green vegetables for meal," the Raj Bhavan official added.As the governor of Bihar, Kovind constituted a judicial commission to investigate irregularities in promotion of undeserving teachers, mismanagement of funds and appointment of undeserving candidates in different universities, for which he received a lot of praise and accolades from all fronts. Sources said Kovind never failed to consult Nitish before issuing notification for appointment of new vice-chancellors.

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