Hindustan Surkhiyan Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s freshly appointed cabinet are set to have their first meeting on Friday evening. As per reports, the cabinet meeting is scheduled to take place at 5pm today. Along with Prime Minister Modi, his 58-minister cabinet was sworn-in on Friday evening, with several fresh faces replacing the party veterans like Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley. While 24 cabinet ministers were sworn-in the Modi government, nine took oath as ministers of state (Independent charge) and 24 others as ministers of state.The spotlight was, however, on PM Modi’s most trusted lieutenant Amit Shah who made his debut in the Union ministry. It is said that Shah was rewarded for scripting the party’s emphatic electoral victory. Shah is being tipped to bag the coveted finance portfolio. The biggest surprise was the induction of former foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as a cabinet minister. He appears set to be the new external affairs minister replacing BJP veteran Sushma Swaraj. In his tweet late last night, PM Modi described his team 2.0 as “a blend of youthful energy and administrative experience”.
Purge of several veterans:
Rajyavardhan Rathore and Mahesh Sharma are among the notable omissions in the BJP-led NDA’s second innings. Despite winning their seats, eight-time MP Maneka Gandhi, six-time MP Radhamohan Singh, Sharma, Jayant Sinha, Anupriya Patel, Jual Oram, Ram Kripal Yadav and Rathore lost their ministerial berths.
Another key BJP leader, who did not make it to the Cabinet his time, is J P Nadda, the health minister in the first Modi dispensation. He could be the next BJP president as incumbent Amit Shah has joined the government.
Congratulations to all those who took oath today. This team is a blend of youthful energy and administrative experience. It has people who have excelled as Parliamentarians and those who have had distinguished professional careers.
Together, we will work for India’s progress. pic.twitter.com/NKQh61eYCh
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 30, 2019
Cabinet ministers vow to give their best in new role
Parliamentarians, who were sworn-in as cabinet ministers Thursday, have vowed to give their best to take the country’s development agenda forward. Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters that as soon as the portfolios are announced, ministers will share their plans with the media. “Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership we will give our best,” the Lok Janshakti Party chief said.
Anurag Thankur, who took oath as a minister of state, said he will serve the country “in the best of his capacity”.
Dharmendra Pradhan, who helped the BJP make inroads in Odisha, said it is an important development that two ministers have been chosen from the state.
Along with Pradhan, Pratap Sarangi was also inducted into Modi’s council of ministers.
Top ministers may be given these portfolios:
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- PM Modi will be in charge of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space and all other portfolios not allocated to any minister;
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- Rajnath Singh to retain Home Ministry;
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- Amit Shah likely to get Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs;
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- Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Minister of Shipping, Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation;
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- D.V. Sadanand Gowda, Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation;
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- Nirmala Sitharaman, Defence Ministry;
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- S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs;
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- Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology;
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- Ramesh Pokhriyal, Minister of Health and Family Welfare;
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- Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development;
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- Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Minister of Rural Development and Minister for Panchayati Raj;
- Thawar Chand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
