Effecting a big reset, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday brought in Sarbananda Sonowal, Narayan Rane and Jyotiraditya Scindia as Cabinet ministers while dropping as many as 12 ministers including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar.
As many as 15 Cabinet ministers, including some new faces, were sworn-in at the swearing in ceremony held in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
While 13 members took oath in Hindi, two took in English.
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 has 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 Jyotiraditya Scindia, a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, also took oath as a Cabinet minister.
The 50-year-old leader has been 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.
Live Coverage:
28 Ministers inducted as Ministers of State including Meenakshi Lekhi, Pankaj Choudhary, Anupriya Patel, Shobha Karandlaje #CabinetExpansion2021 pic.twitter.com/JRcm09roY4
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
15 Ministers inducted into the Union Cabinet including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Anurag Thakur, Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Puri. pic.twitter.com/rO6WK02Vh2
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
He got elected to the Lok Sabha five times--in 1996, 1998, 2004, 2014 and 2019--from the Jalaun constituency. In 2001, he became vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh BJP's SC Morcha and a decade later, he became its president. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Paras, who previously headed Lok Janshakti Party's Bihar unit and is currently the national president of its breakaway faction, began his innings in 1978 as a Janata Party MLA from Alauli in his native Khagaria district, a seat formerly represented by the late Ram Vilas Paswan. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
An MP from Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur, 40-year-old Patel belongs to the Kurmi community and had been a minister in the first government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
JDU supporters celebrate inclusion of Ramchandra Prasad Singh in Union Cabinet, at party office in Patna. Workers play holi & distribute sweets.
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
"This is a big day for JDU. For 1st time, our national president will be in Union Cabinet," says Dr Sagarika Chaudhary, JDU state secy pic.twitter.com/Aoaj4mJuDZ
JDU supporters celebrate inclusion of Ramchandra Prasad Singh in Union Cabinet, at party office in Patna. Workers play holi & distribute sweets.
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
"This is a big day for JDU. For 1st time, our national president will be in Union Cabinet," says Dr Sagarika Chaudhary, JDU state secy pic.twitter.com/Aoaj4mJuDZ
Scindia (50) resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP in March 2020 and his move triggered a chain of events which finally culminated in the collapse of the Kamal Nath government just 15 months after its formation, paving the way for the saffron party to assume power which it lost towards the end of 2018. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Not known to mince words, the Maratha leader having pockets of influence in the coastal Konkan region, was picked by Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray as chief minister when he decided to remove the genial Manohar Joshi ahead of the 1999 assembly elections. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Supporters of BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia celebrate his inclusion in the new Union Cabinet, outside the BJP office in Bhopal.
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
"There is enthusiasm among MP youth. We are celebrating, distributing sweets as Modiji has given an opportunity to youth leadership," said a supporter pic.twitter.com/jR2H1q0Xh4
Narayan Rane begins the oath-taking proceedings. Sarbananda Sonowal, the man who made way for Himanta Biswa Sarma as Assam CM, is next. The list of how the swearing-in will continue is in the list we had shared earlier and are sharing once again:
1. Narayan Tatu Rane
2. Sarbananda Sonowal
3. Dr. Virendra Kumar
4. Jyotiraditya M Scindia
5. Ramchandra Prasad Singh
6. Ashwini Vaishnaw
7. Pashu Pati Kumar Paras
8. Kiren Rijiju
9. Raj Kumar Singh
10.Hardeep Singh Puri
11.Mansukh Mandaviya
12.Bhupender Yadav
13.Parshottam Rupala
14.G. Kishan Reddy
15.Anurag Singh Thakur
16.Pankaj Choudhary
17. Anupriya Singh Patel
18.Dr. Satya Pal Singh Baghel
19. Rajeev Chandrasekhar
20.Sushri Shobha Karandlaje
21.Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma
22.Darshana Vikram Jardosh23.Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi
24.Annapurna Devi
25.A. Narayanaswamy
26.Kaushal Kishore
27.Ajay Bhatt
28.B. L. Verma
29.Ajay Kumar
30.Chauhan Devusinh
31.Bhagwanth Khuba
32.Kapil Moreshwar Patil
33.Sushri Pratima Bhoumik
34.Dr. Subhas Sarkar
35.Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad
36.Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh
37.Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar
38.Bishweswar Tudu
39.Shantanu Thakur
40.Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai
41.John Barla
42.Dr. L. Murugan
43.Nisith Pramanik
????LIVE Now#PresidentKovind administers oath of office and secrecy to members of Council of Ministers at @rashtrapatibhvn
— PIB India (@PIB_India) July 7, 2021
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The swearing-in ceremony of 43 new ministers will begin shortly. #CabinetExpansion2021 pic.twitter.com/Aev4KP65wi
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
Visuals from inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan of 43 leaders including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Pashupati Kumar Paras, Bhupender Yadav, Anupriya Patel, Shobha Karandlaje, Meenakshi Lekhi, Anurag Thakur, who will be taking oath as part of Union Cabinet expansion,today pic.twitter.com/g1x2ssv0u8
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
The President of India accepts the resignation of 12 members of the Council of Ministers including IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank and others, says the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
The list of ministers to have resigned:
1. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda
2. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad
3. Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot
4. Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
5. Dr. Harsh Vardhan
6. Shri Prakash Javadekar
7. Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar
8. Shri Babul Supriyo
9. Shri Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao
10. Shri Rattan Lal Kataria
11. Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi
12. Sushri Debasree Chaudhuri
Delhi: BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda leaves from his residence.
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
Union #CabinetReshuffle to take place this evening. pic.twitter.com/DBvBVo3fy1
PM @narendramodi earlier interacted with ministers in the making at 7, LKM.@NewIndianXpress @TheMornStandard pic.twitter.com/Nww9WYenCL
— Manish Anand (@AnandM25_TNIE) July 7, 2021
Reddy, fondly known as Kishananna, was elected as the Member of Parliament to 17th Lok Sabha in 2019, from Secunderabad Constituency. Reddy is also a 3-time MLA and BJP Floor Leader in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Assemblies. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
With L Murugan set to assume office as Union Minister, the Tamil Nadu State unit will have a new president soon. The development comes on a day when the BJP demanded an explanation from EPS and OPS after an ex-minister said the AIADMK lost power in the state due to his party's pact with the saffron party.
Delhi: BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia leaves from his residence.
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
The Union #CabinetReshuffle will take place this evening pic.twitter.com/tu61y207UO
Two ministers taking the oath of office today are new members of the BJP who have been making waves every since they switched sides.
Luck of Lok Sabha MP from Jharkhand Annapurna Devi must be envious. Joined BJP from RJD, became vice president of the party, and now in #Modi council of ministers.
— Manish Anand (@AnandM25_TNIE) July 7, 2021
Another turncoat SPS Baghel also has a dream run, joining the @narendramodi council of ministers. He had joined BJP ahead of 2017 UP polls from BSP. @NewIndianXpress @TheMornStandard
— Manish Anand (@AnandM25_TNIE) July 7, 2021
Delhi | Former Assam CM and BJP leader Sarbananda Sonowal leaves from his residence
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
The Union Cabinet expansion will take place this evening pic.twitter.com/N7cidr3SY9
Several Dalits, backward caste members are being made ministers. They are doing it from the point of polls. This is being done to distract people. They are not doing this for welfare of communities but because of their compulsion: Mallikarjun Kharge
Ministerial probables including BJP's Narayan Rane, Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ajay Bhatt, Bhupender Yadav, Shobha Karandlaje, Sunita Duggal, Meenakshi Lekhi, Bharati Pawar, Shantanu Thakur and Kapil Patil, JD(U)'s R C P Singh, LJP's Pashupati Paras and Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence on Wednesday morning.
Minister of State for Women and Child Development Ministry Debasree Chaudhuri also resigned from the Union Cabinet.
Labour minister Santosh Gangwar has resigned from the Union Cabinet ahead of the scheduled Cabinet reshuffle this evening along with Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', the latter citing health reasons
Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday resigned from the Union Council of Ministers. Gowda confirmed his decision to step down. Besides being the chemicals and fertilizers minister in the Narendra Modi government, Gowda has also held portfolios like Railways, Law, Statistics and Programme Implementation.
#Breaking: @drharshvardhan resigns. India to get new health minister.@NewIndianXpress
— Sumi Dutta (@SumiSukanya) July 7, 2021
Leaders from minority communities will also find greater representation after rejig.
It is learned that one member each from Christian, Muslim, and Sikh communities and two Buddhists to be included.
There will also be five ministers from North East India in total.