Piyush Goyal, the senior BJP leader who was recently given the charge of the Ministry of Textiles and shifted from the Ministry of Railways, has been appointed as the Leader of Rajya Sabha by BJP. Now Piyush Goyal has charge of three ministries – Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution – as well as the responsibility of the leader of the ruling party in Rajya Sabha.
When Goyal was shifted from the Ministry of Railways, many people argued that he is being demoted but we in TFI stated that that he is among the favorite ministers of Prime Minister Modi and he is given charge of a ministry when that sector is being priortized. Given the post-pandemic stress in the textile sector and simultaneous opportunities given huge demand, production, and export of PPE kits, a successful manager like Piyush Goyal is needed to make the best of the opportunity and deal with the challenges.
Given Goyal’s excellent rapport with the opposition leaders, many of whom respect his professional competency despite the fact that he is a leader of the ruling party, he is the best candidate to manage the house as the government seeks to pass many important bills in the coming sessions including Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020. BJP does not have majority in Rajya Sabha and it will need the help of allies, who need to be convinced about the ideas behind these bills.
Goyal has already managed the upper house in the passing of the Article 370 abrogation bill and Triple Talaq bill, and he is expected to do the job excellently for the coming bills also.
Goyal’s professional competency is so trusted that the shares of textile businesses touched 52 weeks high after he was appointed as the Minister of Textiles. According to a Business Standard report, the shares of textiles companies were in demand as Vardhman Textiles, Siyaram Silk Mills, RSWM, and Dollar Industries hit their respective 52-week highs on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday. Trade analysts have attributed the spurt in the textiles shares as a direct impact of Goyal’s promotion.
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 appreciated by people across the country. Train toilets that remained nothing more than a hole in the floor for 67 years transformed into well-equipped lavatories under Goyal’s leadership.
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.
Piyush Goyal is an extremely disciplined man with terrific organizational skills. He is the one to get the job done and his CEO-like working style closely resembles PM Modi’s own working style. His appointment as the leader of Rajya Sabha, a position once occupied by his mentor, Arun Jaitley, proves that his stature is only growing in the party and PM Modi sees him as the man who can take up huge responsibilities.
Piyush ji Goyal is a top performer. Only lacuna is he is not a “mass leader”.