President appoints five new Governors, T.N. BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan gets Telangana

The Centre on Sunday appointed new Governors for five States. A communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said President Ram Nath Kovind had appointed new Governors for Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana

Former Union Minister, Arif Mohammed Khan, who walked out of the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1986 after it had decided to overturn the Supreme Court’s Shah Bano judgment, was appointed Governor of Kerala along with three other BJP leaders.

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been named the Governor of Maharashtra while Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan will be the new Governor of Telangana. Former Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya will be the Governor of Himachal Pradeshin place of Kalraj Mishra, who has been given the charge of Rajasthan, replacing incumbent Governor Kalyan Singh.

Mr. Khan, an ardent critic of instant triple talaq and advocate of reforming the Muslim personal law, will be replacing Jusice (retd.) P. Sathasivam.“The Governor, on behalf of President, is to oversee that everything is in letter and spirit with the provisions laid down in the Constitution… It is a great opportunity for me to know this part of India, which forms the boundary of India and is called God’s own country,” Mr. Khan said after the announcement.

Quoted in debates

Mr. Khan, 68, from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, is often cited by BJP leaders in triple talaq debates as an example of a voice from within the community that is calling for reforms in the Muslim personal law.

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too quoted Mr. Khan while the Triple Talaq Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

Another prominent appointment is that of Ms. Soundararajan, who will be replacing Telangana Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau, who has been one of the longest serving Governors after being appointed in January 2010 by the then UPA government for the State of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Doctor by profession

A doctor by profession, Ms. Soundararajan is the daughter of former Tamil Nadu Congress chief Kumari Anandan and niece of Congress MP from Kanniyakumari, H. Vasanthakumar.

Having served the BJP in various capacities, Ms. Soundararajan was made the president of the Tamil Nadu party unit in 2014.

In Maharashtra, Mr. Koshyari will be replacing incumbent Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, while Mr. Dattatreya, who was Labour Minister during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet in the first term, will be replacing Mr. Kalraj Mishra in Himachal Pradesh.

Mr. Mishra, who was appointed Himachal Governor a couple of months ago, has been transferred to Rajasthan where he will take charge from incumbent Mr. Kalyan Singh.