'Entirely expected decision': Singhvi's dig at Arif Mohammed Khan's Guv appointment

Taking a swipe at Arif Mohammed Khan's appointment as Kerala Governor, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Sunday said it was an "entirely expected decision" as the statements made by the former Union minister in recent times were an indicator of him soon getting rewarded by the BJP.

Khan, who quit the Rajiv Gandhi government in protest against the enactment of a law to nullify the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case, was on Sunday appointed as Kerala governor.

"Congratulations to Arif Mohammed Khan on being appointed as Governor of Kerala. An entirely expected decision. His statements made in the recent times were an indicator of him soon getting rewarded by the BJP. The reward is well deserved and was long awaited," Singh said in a tweet.

Sixty-eight-year-old Khan, who replaces former Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam in the Kerala Raj Bhavan, has been a vocal critic of the practice of instant triple talaq and calling for reforms in the Muslim personal laws for long.

Khan's speech in Parliament in 1985 in the wake of the Shah Bano judgment extending the Rajiv Gandhi government's initial support to it was much acclaimed.

However, when the Rajiv Gandhi government did a U-turn under alleged pressure from Muslim clerics and brought a bill to nullify the Supreme Court order, he resigned from the ministry.

The Uttar Pradesh politician later joined the BJP but remained inactive since 2007.

Recently, when the Modi government brought a bill to criminalise the practice of instant triple talaq, Khan supported it.