Yesterday, PM Narendra Modi took his oath as the 16th Prime Minister of India. Along with him, 57 other elected Parliamentarians took oath for their respective berths in the Union Council of Ministers. While many new faces were included in the Council, a few of the old faces had to bid goodbye.
However, there are some faces as well, who were initially at the lower rungs of the Union Council of Ministers, but have been now promoted to the either the Cabinet rank, or at least the Minister of State [Independent Change]. Let’s have a look at the most prominent faces, who had been a part of the previous NDA government, and have now been promoted to better posts.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
A vociferous critic of the Triple Talaq, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had served under PM Modi’s previous NDA government as the Minister of State for Minority Affairs. This time, not only has he been retained, but also promoted to the Cabinet rank of the Minister of Minority Affairs. This is extremely welcome as it increases the responsibility of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to implement PM Narendra Modi’s vision on minorities which he shared a couple of days go in his inaugural session at the Parliament.
Giriraj Singh
Having demolished the myth of separatist leader Kanhaiya Kumar, Giriraj Singh, who was the Minister of State for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, has now been promoted to the Cabinet rank of the Minister of Animal Husbandry & Livestock. Given that he has been an unequivocal advocate of the same, this post is an appropriate recognition of Giriraj’s efforts.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Another interesting promotion is that of the former Minister of State for Agriculture and Family Welfare. He has now been promoted to the rank of Minister of Jal Shakti. He will now join hands with Nitin Gadkari, who is already working on BJP’s promise to interlink all the rivers, along with the cleaning of River Ganga by 2022, and put his brilliant administrative skills to good use here.
Kiren Rijiju
One of the most interesting promotions, however, is that of the former Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju. An influential leader from Arunachal Pradesh, Kiren Rijiju shall now be the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. He shall replace the legendary shooter and Olympic medalist Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore [retd.], who took India to unprecedented glories in events including the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and the Youth Olympics, last year. The onus to create history for India in Tokyo Olympics will now be the responsibility of Kiren Rijiju.
We sincerely hope that these people continue to contribute to their new ministries under the NDA government in the same way as before and inspire millions of Indians to do their bit into building a new India.