homeindia NewsKiren Rijiju is no longer Union law minister | What might have led to the cabinet reshuffle
Kiren Rijiju is no longer Union law minister | What might have led to the cabinet reshuffle
Arjun Ram Meghwal has replaced Rijiju to become the new law minister in India, Rashtrapati Bhawan said on Thursday.
Kiren Rijiju is no longer the Minister of Law and Justice. After the fresh cabinet reshuffle, Arjun Ram Meghwal has replaced Rijiju to become the new Union Minister of State (independent charge) for Law and Justice. Meghwal has been assigned the independent charge as MoS Law and Justice, along with his existing portfolios. Meanwhile, Rijiju has been allotted the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
"Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State assigned the independent charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice in addition to his existing portfolios, in place of Kiren Rijiju. The portfolio of Ministry of Earth Sciences has been assigned to Kiren Rijiju," Rashtrapati Bhawan said on Thursday.
Also, the Narendra Modi government has moved the minister of state Prof S P Singh Baghel from the ministry of law and justice to the ministry of health and family welfare. This was necessitated after Meghwal was made the minister of state with independent charge of the ministry of law and justice.
Meghwal is the third law minister ever since the BJP returned to power in the Centre in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. Kiren Rijiju had taken charge as the law minister on July 7, 2021. Rijiju had replaced Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was the Union law minister since July 5, 2016.
Before this, DV Sadananda Gowda was the law minister between November 9, 2014 and July 5, 2016, while Ravi Shankar Prasad held the post when the BJP had first formed the government in 2014.
What might have led to this cabinet reshuffle?
The Supreme Court Collegium issue might be one of the reasons for the removal of Kiren Rijiju from the post of law minister. Lately, Rijiju had been quite vocal about his disapproval of the current collegium system and called it "opaque". He demanded a new system or reforming of the current system to include government representation in the collegium.
Is it being said that Rijiju was "blocking the appointment of judges" and judgements were delayed under his rule. Analysts believe that he was interfering the judicial process and questioning the judiciary at every point of time.
However, Collegium is not the only issue that might have prompted Thursday's reshuffle. The law ministry has been one of the important ministries for the BJP government when it came to bringing legislative and legal changes.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi told News 18 that Kiren Rijiju's removal is a fallout of the Adani scam and the "BJP's embarrassment in the court." Meanwhile, Congress leader Manickam Tagore said, "The law ministry was losing its dignity under Kiren Rijiju. I hope Arjun Meghwal delivers as the new Minister."
What the two leaders said after cabinet reshuffle
After he was divested of the Law and Justice portfolio, Kiren Rijiju said it was a privilege to serve as Union Minister of Law and Justice.
"I look forward to fulfilling the vision of PM Narendra Modi ji in the Earth Sciences Ministry with the same zeal and vigour I have imbibed as a humble 'karyakarta' of (the) BJP," Rijiju, a three-term Lok Sabha member from Arunachal Pradesh, said.
Meanwhile, taking charge as the law minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal said Justice should be served to all and cases pending in courts should be as less as possible.
(With inputs from News 18)
First Published: May 18, 2023 10:16 AM IST
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