Union Minister Smriti Irani has been assigned the Ministry of Minority Affairs on Wednesday, in addition to her existing portfolio, after Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who held the portfolio, resigned from the Union Council of Ministers today. Similarly, Jyotiraditya Scindia was given charge of the Ministry of Steel following the resignation of Steel Minister RCP Singh.
"The President, as advised by the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignations of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Ram Chandra Prasad Singh from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution," a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said.
"The President has directed that Woman And Child Development Minister Irani be assigned the additional charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and Civil Aviation Minister Scindia the charge of the Ministry of Steel, in addition to his existing portfolio," the communique added.
The Centre's big overhaul came after Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Steel Minister RCP Singh resigned from the Modi cabinet just a day before their terms as Rajya Sabha MPs end on July 7.
Recently, several BJP leaders were elected to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. However, the party did not give a Rajya Sabha ticket to Naqvi. RCP Singh, who comes from an ally party in Bihar, JD(U), had sworn in as a minister in the Modi government a year ago. However, in the recent announcement of the Rajya Sabha tickets, Nitish Kumar denied RCP Singh's election to the Rajya Sabha.
