In a significant political development, President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday appointed Arif Mohammed Khan, the current Governor of Kerala, as the new Governor of Bihar. The appointment comes after Khan completed his five-year term as Kerala’s governor, a tenure marked by frequent tensions with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Khan, 73, assumed office as Kerala’s Governor on September 6, 2019. His term, however, was far from smooth, characterized by several confrontations with the state government, particularly regarding university appointments, actions of the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) — the SFI, and various bills passed by the state assembly. These issues often sparked heated debates between the Raj Bhavan and the state government.
One of the most high-profile incidents during Khan’s tenure occurred in 2019 when he had a public altercation with historian Irfan Habib at the Indian History Congress in Kannur. Khan accused Habib of attempting to physically assault him, and the incident further escalated when he claimed that the private secretary to Chief Minister Vijayan, KK Ragesh, had prevented the police from arresting those who had heckled him on stage.
In 2022, Khan took part in a two-hour-long press conference where he alleged interference from the Chief Minister’s office in his role as Chancellor of Kerala’s universities. He claimed that the government had pressurized him to appoint Gopinath Ravindran as the Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University, despite concerns over his suitability. This controversial appointment was later quashed by the Supreme Court in 2023, and the governor faced severe criticism from the judiciary.
Throughout his term, Khan had also clashed with the student wing of the CPM, the SFI, accusing its activists of violent behavior on campuses and alleging that the organization posed a threat to his personal safety. He made headlines on multiple occasions by stepping out of his motorcade to confront SFI activists. In early 2023, Khan even made a short and controversial policy address in the Kerala Assembly, reading only the first and last paragraphs of his speech, which lasted under two minutes.
Khan’s time as the Governor of Kerala was marked by a strained relationship with the ruling LDF government, which approached the Supreme Court multiple times to challenge the governor’s delay in approving bills. Among the contested bills were amendments to the Abkari Act, Land Assignment, and Co-operative Societies Act. The Kerala government raised concerns over Khan’s prolonged delay in approving these bills, which were only passed after the intervention of the top court in April 2024.
As Khan transitions to his new role in Bihar, the state will look to his experience in dealing with complex political and governance challenges. Meanwhile, Rajendra Arlekar, the outgoing Governor of Bihar, will now take charge of the Kerala Governor’s office in Thiruvananthapuram.
Sources By Agencies