One of the biggest gainers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first major cabinet reshuffle of NDA 2.0 was Piyush Goyal. The Union Minister after proving his mettle in the Railways and the Coal Ministry was handed reins of the Ministry of Textiles. Moreover, he has been appointed the leader of Rajya Sabha of BJP – a post once held by Goyal’s senior and Guru, late Arun Jaitley.
As reported by TFI, Arun Jaitley mentored the likes of Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan and others. Today, these ministers hold some of the most important and consequential portfolios. Additionally, these are all ministers who are favoured by PM Modi himself, and from them, Arun Jaitley is still reflected. Arun Jaitley was a dear friend of PM Modi, and as such, his proteges connect with the Prime Minister like very few usually do.
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The former Finance Minister might have breathed his last on August 24th 2019 but his memory still lives on in the BJP, and through the policies of the government — GST being his biggest legacy. However, Jaitley’s biggest contribution to his party has been his effortless ability to nurture the next generation of the party.
A party that has seen heavyweight leaders like Advani, Vajpayee in the past and is currently going through its golden phase with PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and several others forming the core group.
While these leaders might pull their weight in the next General elections as well, BJP as a party tends to look towards the zenith. And thus onus was put on Jaitley to find the diamonds and polish them so that when the old guards make space, the void is not felt for long. And he did absolute justice to his role.
Currently, BJP appears to be the only party, including the small regional parties across the country that can easily take on the supposed big opposition leaders, with its enviable bench strength.
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Jaitley’s protégé Piyush Goyal now has charge of three ministries – Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, in addition to the leader of the ruling party in Rajya Sabha. And just like him, one can be certain that Goyal will rise up to the challenge and fill in the big shoes of Jaitley.
The signs are already here as immediately after taking charge of the Textiles Ministry, the entire industry responded with positive sentiment as shares of textiles companies like Vardhman Textiles, Siyaram Silk Mills, RSWM, and Dollar Industries hit their respective 52-week highs on the BSE in intra-day trade last week.
What is being seen as a demotion for Piyush Goyal is in fact PM Modi turning to his best minister to nurse an ailing industry back to health. And if Goyal’s records are to be taken into consideration, it is an exceptionally well made call on the Prime Minister’s Part.
— Atul Kumar Mishra (@TheAtulMishra) July 8, 2021
As reported by TFI previously, after PM Modi turned to Piyush Goyal for the Railways Ministry, the minister was able to bring an innovative work culture, hitherto unseen in the sector, which had witnessed lackadaisical leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mamata Banerjee in the past.
As a result, the Indian Railways and its trains now are more punctual than ever. Unmanned crossings are history. From accidents amounting to as high as 1130 in 1980-81, the number of train accidents fell to 59 in 2018-19, a reduction of more than 94.8 per cent. Cleanliness in trains is now a stuff of legends. Train toilets that remained nothing more than a hole in the floor for 67 years transformed into well-equipped lavatories under Goyal’s leadership.
Read More: Piyush Goyal is PM Modi’s very own ‘rainmaker’ – Textile Ministry for him is not a demotion
Similarly, when Goyal took charge of coal, power, and renewable energy in Modi Cabinet 1.0, the new minister of state knew what he was signing up for. However, by the time Goyal handed over the keys of the ministry to his successor RK Singh, the process of electrifying every village had been completed. Under his leadership, coal allocation through the e-auction method was working seamlessly and power generation had grown to record highs.
Goyal has risen through the ranks, making his way through difficult terrains in alien ministries and yet he stands today as one of the miracle workers of Modi’s cabinet. Arun Jaitley must be proud and smiling down upon the work of his protégé.