New Delhi: Former Union Minister Arif Mohammed Khan was on Friday sworn in as the 22nd Governor of Kerala at Raj Bhawan in Thiruvananthapuram.
Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court Hrishikesh Roy administered the oath of the office to Mr. Khan in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Khan was expected to take his oath in English or hindi, but surprisingly he took the oath in Malayalam and later in English.
Khan succeeds P. Sathasivam, who completed his five-year tenure as Governor.
A seasoned politician, Khan was elected to the Uttar Pradesh assembly at the age of 26. Later, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from U.P on Congress ticket in 1980 and 1984. In 1986, he quit the Rajiv Gandhi ministry, protesting the government’s stand in the Shah Bano case.
Khan has two sons, Mustafa Arif, who is a lawyer, and Kabir Arif, a pilot.
In 2004, Khan had joined the BJP, but left it as he felt ‘ignored’ within the leadership.
