Vardhan, Prasad, Javadekar out; Sonowal, Rane, Scindia in
NEW DELHI, July 7: In a major Union Cabinet makeover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today dropped 12 Ministers including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar and brought Sarbananda Sonowal, Narayan Rane and Jyotiraditya Scindia and 33 other new members to his Government.
Apart from 15 Cabinet Ministers, 28 Ministers of State, comprising new faces and those elevated, were sworn in at a ceremony which was held in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
After taking into account 12 resignations hours before the expansion has taken the total strength of the Council of Ministers to 78, including the Prime Minister.
This is the first reshuffle in the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Modi since he assumed charge for a second term in May 2019.
An extensive and protracted review was carried out by Modi and the BJP top brass through a series of meetings with ministers ahead of Wednesday’s big exercise. These meetings were also held in the wake of widespread criticism of the Central government’s handling of the COVID crisis.
Most of the members took oath in Hindi, a few of them in English. Outgoing ministers Prasad, Javadekar and Vardhan were also present, while some had their family members watching their oath-taking.
The exit of Prasad comes amid a row between micro-blogging platform Twitter and the government over various issues, including compliance with the new IT rules.
Prasad and Javadekar had also recently announced sweeping regulations for social media firms like Facebook and Twitter, OTT players as well as digital media.
Health Minister Vardhan, whose handling of the COVID-19 crisis had drawn flak from the opposition parties, resigned from the Union Council of Ministers just hours before the expansion.
Vardhan, a doctor himself, had been in charge of the Health Ministry as well as the Science and Technology Ministry as the COVID pandemic broke and then India worked to develop vaccines.
However, his various comments in the middle of the crisis were slammed by many as insensitive and ignorant of the ground reality, even as he strongly defended the government’s handling of the situation.
The expansion-cum-reshuffle of the Cabinet is seen by many political observers as an image makeover exercise by Modi as he brought in young faces and gave representation to various social groups and regions in the government. While the average age of the Council of Ministers has come down to 58 years, the new entrants also include many with high educational and professional qualifications.
Scindia and Rane, who switched over from the Congress and the Shiv Sena respectively, bagged Cabinet berths while new entrants of West Bengal were seen as an attempt to bolster the BJP’s prospects in the TMC-ruled state that recently saw a high-octane electoral battle.
Lok Sabha MP from Bihar’s Hajipur Pashupati Kumar Paras, who is embroiled in a feud with nephew Chirag Paswan over the control of Ram Vilas Paswan-founded Lok Janshakti Party, was also sworn in as a Cabinet minister.
The reshuffle also saw JD(U) joining the government Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar R C P Singh being made a Cabinet minister.
Rane, 69, a Rajya Sabha MP and a former Maharashtra chief minister, was the first to take oath. After Rane, Sonowal, former Assam chief minister, took oath in English. The 58-year-old leader had earlier served as Union Minister of State (Independent charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and Sports and Youth Affairs under Prime Minister Modi
Congress-turned-BJP leader Scindia, a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, also took oath as a Cabinet minister. The 50-year-old leader was Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and Union Minister of State for Commerce & Communications in the earlier UPA government.
Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh Virendra Kumar, Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha Ashwini Vaishnaw, Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar and JD(U) leader R C P Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Bihar’s Hajipur Pashupati Kumar Paras, were also sworn-in as Cabinet ministers.
Kiren Rijiju, R K Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya, Parshottam Rupala, G Kishan Reddy and Anurag Thakur were elevated to the Cabinet level.
Bhupendra Yadav, who has been serving in the BJP organisation as a general secretary, was also sworn-in as a Cabinet minister.
Among the 28 Ministers of State, seven are from Uttar Pradesh which goes to polls next year with the BJP seeking a second term there.
Pankaj Choudhary, Anupriya Patel, Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Kaushal Kishore, S P S Baghel and Ajay Kumar— all are Lok Sabha MPs from Uttar Pradesh who took oath as Ministers of State. B L Verma, a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh, was also sworn-in as a Minister of State.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Shobha Karandlaje, MPs from Karnataka; Darshana Vikram Jardosh from Gujarat; New Delhi Lok Sabha MP Meenakashi Lekhi; Annpurna Devi (Jharkhand), A Narayanaswamy (Karnataka); Ajay Bhatt (Uttarakhand), Chauhan Devusinh (Gujarat), were also sworn in as MoS.
Others who were inducted as Ministers of State at the ceremony were Bhagwanth Khuba (Karnataka); Kapil Moreshwar Patil (Maharashtra); Pratima Bhoumik (Tripura); Subhas Sarkar (West Bengal); Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad (Maharashtra); Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (Manipur); MPs Bharati Pawar (Maharashtra), Bishweswar Tudu (Odisha) and Shantanu Thakur (West Bengal) Munjapara Mahendrabhai (Gujarat), John Barla and Nisith Pramanik (West Bengal); and BJP’s Tamil Nadu state president L Murugan.
At least 16 entrants to the Council of Ministers are first time MPs.
Murugan is the only Minister who is not an MP and would need to get elected to either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha within six months. There is a buzz that he may come in as Rajya Sabha member from Puducherry.
Seven women were among the 43 who took oath, taking the total number of women Ministers in the government to 11.
Nisith Pramanik (35), the Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal’s Cooch Behar, is the youngest minister to be sworn in, while the oldest member in the Council of Ministers is 72-year-old Som Parkash.
The other ministers who resigned were—Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank”, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Debasree Chaudhuri, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria and Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo.
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot had resigned after he was made Governor of Karnataka on Tuesday. (PTI)
Dr Jitendra retained as Minister PMO continuously since 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to continue Dr Jitendra Singh in PMO even after seven years,which is a record time for any Minister in PMO.
Dr Jitendra enjoys confidence of Modi and has been in PMO ever since Modi took over as PM first time on 26th May 2014. At the same time, since PM Modi has said, he wants to take personal interest in Science & Technology, he wants MoS PMO to be also In-Charge Ministry of Science & Technology.
Dr Jitendra Singh has created a record of longest serving Minister in the PMO.
Portfolios
Narendra Modi Prime Minister and also in-charge of:
Ministry of Personnel,
Public Grievances and Pensions;
Department of Atomic Energy;
Department of Space;
All important policy issues; and
All other portfolios not allocated to
any Minister
CABINET MINISTERS
Raj Nath Singh Minister of Defence
Amit Shah Minister of Home Affairs; and
Minister of Cooperation
Nitin Jairam Gadkari Minister of Road Transport and Highways
Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of Finance; and
Minister of Corporate Affairs
Narendra Singh Tomar Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Dr. Subrahmanyam Minister of External Affairs
Jaishankar
Arjun Munda Minister of Tribal Affairs
Smriti Zubin Irani Minister of Women and Child Development
Piyush Goyal Minister of Commerce and Industry;
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and
Public Distribution; and
Minister of Textiles
Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Education; and
Minister of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship
Pralhad Joshi Minister of Parliamentary Affairs;
Minister of Coal; and Minister of Mines
Narayan Tatu Rane Minister of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises
Sarbananda Sonowal Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways;
and Minister of AYUSH
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Minister of Minority Affairs
Portfolios
Dr. Virendra Kumar Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
Giriraj Singh Minister of Rural Development; and
Minister of Panchayati Raj
Jyotiraditya M. Scindia Minister of Civil Aviation
Ramchandra Prasad Singh Minister of Steel
Ashwini Vaishnaw Minister of Railways;
Minister of Communications; and
Minister of Electronics and Information
Technology
Pashu Pati Kumar Paras Minister of Food Processing Industries
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Minister of Jal Shakti
Kiren Rijiju Minister of Law and Justice
Raj Kumar Singh Minister of Power; and
Minister of New and Renewable Energy
Hardeep Singh Puri Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas;
and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs
Mansukh Mandaviya Minister of Health and Family Welfare; and
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Bhupender Yadav Minister of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change; and Minister of Labour
and Employment
Dr. Mahendra Nath Minister of Heavy Industries
Pandey
Parshottam Rupala Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry
and Dairying
G. Kishan Reddy Minister of Culture;
Minister of Tourism; and
Minister of Development of North
Eastern Region
Anurag Singh Thakur Minister of Information and Broadcasting;
and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports
MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)
Rao Inderjit Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation;
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Dr. Jitendra Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology;
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences;
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office;
Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions;
Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; and
Minister of State in the Department of Space
MINISTERS OF STATE
Shripad Yesso Naik Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism
Faggansingh Kulaste Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development
Prahalad Singh Patel Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Ashwini Kumar Choubey Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Arjun Ram Meghwal Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture
General (Retd.) V. K. Singh Minister of State in the Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation
Krishan Pal Minister of State in the Ministry of Power; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries
Danve Raosaheb Dadarao Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways;
Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines
Ramdas Athawale Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Nityanand Rai Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs
Pankaj Chaowdhary Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance
Anupriya Singh Patel Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice
Rajeev Chandrasekhar Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
Sushri Shobha Karandlaje Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Darshana Vikram Jardosh Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways
V. Muraleedharan Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
Meenakashi Lekhi Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture
Som Parkash Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Renuka Singh Saruta Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Rameswar Teli Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment
Kailash Choudhary Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Annpurna Devi Minister of State in the Ministry of Education
A. Narayanaswamy Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Kaushal Kishore Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Ajay Bhatt Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism
B. L. Verma Minister of State in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Cooperation
Ajay Kumar Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs
Devusinh Chauhan Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications
Bhagwanth Khuba Minister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Kapil Moreshwar Patil Minister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Sushri Pratima Bhoumik Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Dr. Subhas Sarkar Minister of State in the Ministry of Education
Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance
Karad
Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Minister of State in the Ministry of
Singh External Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Education
Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Bishweswar Tudu Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti
Shantanu Thakur Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Dr. Munjapara Minister of State in the Ministry of
Mahendrabhai Women and Child Development; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of AYUSH
John Barla Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs
Dr. L. Murugan Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Shri Nisith Pramanik Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Sidelights
While all eyes were today riveted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the swearing-in of new ministers, the ceremony held under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic did not see the usual scenes of public bonhomie as leaders maintained social distancing.
All the dignitaries present, including President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were wearing masks during the nearly 90-minute event at the Darbar Hall where two platforms had been installed.
Representatives from different political parties especially leaders of opposition in both houses of parliament were missing as the number of invitees was restricted due to the COVID-19 protocol.
Only one family member of each Minister was allowed. Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, besides a few top officials including P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, were also in attendance.
Several Union Ministers, besides those who had just tendered their resignation such as Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar were among those present.
While most of the Ministers took oath in Hindi, there were a few such as former Assam Chief Minister Sarbanada Sonowal who chose English.
A majority of the new Ministers had donned traditional dresses.
The inductees were sitting in two groups and allocated different platforms for taking oath on their respective sides.
The masks were only briefly removed while taking the oath and later on for a group picture.
The usual hugging and handshaking between the leaders after the conclusion of the oath-taking ceremony were missing as leaders preferred to greet each other with folded hands.
Fifteen Cabinet Ministers and 28 ministers of state were sworn in at the ceremony. (PTI)
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