Arif Khan, who advocated abolition of Muslim Personal Law Board, becomes Kerala governor

Newsroom, Sept 1: Arif Mohammed Khan, a controversial Muslim leader, who advocated abolition of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, and three other senior BJP leaders were appointed Governors on Sunday while Kalraj Mishra was shifted from Himachal Pradesh to the key state of Rajasthan where the Congress is in power.

While Khan heads to Kerala Raj Bhavan, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister B S Koshiyari (Maharashtra), former Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya (Himachal Pradesh) and BJP Tamil Nadu chief Tamilisai Soundararajan (Telangana) have also been appointed as Governors by President Ram Nath Kovind. However, the government has not named a Governor for Karnataka even as the term of incumbent Vajubhai has ended. 

A former Congress leader Khan had in 1986 walked out of the Rajiv Gandhi Cabinet over the Shah Bano case. He also has been the most vocal supporter of the controversial law against Triple Talaq by the Narendra Modi government.

He quit the cabinet when the government reversed Supreme Court's Shah Bano verdict granting alimony to a divorced Muslim woman. A staunch critic of Shariah, he had also asked the Congress to abolish Muslim Personal Law. 

Over the years, he has stuck to his conviction that secular parties blatantly playing the Muslim card would only harm the interests of the community.

Khan hit the headlines recently when he said PM Modi quoted a former Congress leader as having said it was not the duty of their party to uplift Muslims and “if they want to lie in the gutter let them be”. The remark the Prime Minister referred to, Khan claimed, was made by PV Narasimha Rao, then a Union minister.

"6-7 years ago, during a TV interview, I was asked whether any pressure was brought upon me to take back my resignation (in connection with Shah Bano case). I told them after resigning, I disappeared from my house." Khan added, “I further said, next morning at Parliament, I met Arun Singh who repeatedly told me I was correct morally but this would cause a lot of inconvenience to the party. Mr Narishma Rao told me ‘tum bahut ziddi ho. Shah Bano ne bhi apna stand badal liya hai’.”

In an interview with a national news portal, Khan was all praise for the Prime Minister after the BJP swept to power and PM Modi assured of taking everyone along. 

Khan began his career as a student leader and became a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly at the age of 26. He later joined the Indian National Congress and became a member of the Lok Sabha in 1980 and in 1984.

From energy to civil aviation, Khan has held several portfolios. After quitting the Congress, he joined the Janata Dal and BSP. In 2004, he joined the BJP but left three years later, complaining that he felt ignored in the party.