File photo: Sheila Dikshit

Sheila Dikshit, the Congress leader who has served three terms as Chief Minister of Delhi, has been appointed the Governor of Kerala.The decision taken by the union government, which is led by Ms Dikshit's party, has ignited criticism from other political groups especially Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party or AAP.In December, Mr Kejriwal took over as chief minister of Delhi after playing a starring role in the electoral decimation of Ms Dikshit. The Congress, which had been in power since 1998, was relegated to penurious third place.As Kerala Governor, Ms Dikhsit, who is 75, replaced Nikhil Kumar, a former police commissioner of Delhi who is likely to run for parliament from Bihar.Mr Kejriwal resigned as chief minister of Delhi last month, but before that, he instigated criminal cases against Ms Dikshit, accusing her of corruption. He said today that the Congress' move is clearly designed as a shield against investigation - while in office, criminal proceedings cannot be instituted or continued against a governor while in office.

Other critics of the Congress have questioned its right to make an important appointment on the cusp of the national election - they say that the outgoing government should not be entitled to hefty decisions.