PATNA: Former union minister Arif Mohammad Khan on Thursday took oath as the 42nd governor of Bihar at a simple function organised at the Raj Bhavan.
Chief Justice of Patna High Court, Justice K Vinod Chandran, administered the oath of office to Khan, who reached Patna on Monday. The ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, speaker of the assembly Nand Kishor Yadav, legislative council chairman Avadhesh Kumar Singh, leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav and several other dignitaries.
Khan succeeded Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who was appointed the governor of Kerala. In his interaction with mediapersons, after he was sworn in as governor, Khan also objected to questions being raised over his meeting with RJD president Lalu Prasad on Wednesday evening shortly after the RJD president's son Tejashwi Yadav had called on him at the Raj Bhavan.
"You tell me one thing. If you visit a place and you have old acquaintances, would you not like to meet them? Likewise, would I not like to spend some time with those whom I have known since 1975, once I am in their city? I wonder what is questionable in this matter,” Khan said. “Media should not view all things through the prism of politics", he remarked while stating that he looked forward to a great tenure in Bihar, where he has come as a "sevak" (servant).
Earlier in the Congress, Khan was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from Kanpur, but he quit the party in 1986 due to differences over the passage of Muslim Personal Law Bill. He later joined Janata Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party and finally BJP in 2004.
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar takes oath as Kerala Governor
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar took the oath as the 23rd Governor of Kerala at a function held at Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice Nitin Jamdar, administered the oath at 10.30 am.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his Cabinet colleagues, and senior leaders of various political parties.
Arlekar arrived in Kerala's capital on Wednesday and was welcomed at the international airport by Chief Minister Vijayan, Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer, and ministers K Rajan and Ramachandran Kadannappally.
Last week, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, appointed Khan as the new Governor of Bihar and made the outgoing Governor, Arlekar, the Governor of Kerala.
(With inputs from PTI)