MOH Farook, Governor of Kerala, passes away

The Kerala Governor and veteran Puducherry politician M.O.H. Farook, passed away at a hospital in Chennai on Thursday night after ailing for some time. 74 year old was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals on December 4 and was treated for multiple myeloma. Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj is currently holding the additional charge of Kerala. MOH Farook is survived by his son M.O.H.F. Shahjahan and daughters F. Malika and F. Yasmin.

Farook hailed from Karaikal and was Speaker of the Puducherry Assembly at the age of 27. He was thrice Chief Minister of Puducherry (1967-68, 1969-74 and 1985-90). He headed the governments of both the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Congress.

Elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991, 1996 and 1999, he served as Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Tourism in 1991-92 in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government. In September 2004, he was appointed Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and in 2010 Jharkhand Governor. He was appointed Kerala Governor and assumed office on September 8, 2011.

The state has cancelled many scheduled programs. The Indian Navy has also decided to not conduct the commissioning ceremony of INS Sudarshini, the second sail training ship. The Ship will however be commissioned as scheduled due to operational reasons in a low key ceremony.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh condoled the death of M.O.H Farook, said “Shri M.O.H. Farook will be remembered for his administrative abilities and strong bond that he had with the people whom he represented.”

The Vice President of India, M. Hamid Ansari said “Shri Farook was a veteran public leader who participated in the liberation of Puducherry and played an important role in both the Central and State governments in the service of the nation and people of Puducherry.”