Dharmendra takes fresh guard, Pratap pads up for debut

Bhubaneswar: Among the handful who managed to retain their portfolios in the Narendra Modi government, Dharmendra Pradhan is one of them. The minister of petroleum and natural gas during Modi’s first stint as Prime Minister, Dharmendra not only retains his portfolio, but has also been given the additional charge of the steel ministry, a sign of his growing stature within the BJP.
“The works started in the petroleum ministry will be expedited in the coming five years,” Dharmendra said, soon after taking charge of his old ministry.
“Priority will be given to oil and gas production in the country. Efforts will be made to further accelerate works of Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga pipeline project,” he added. The Rs 12,500 crore project being implemented by GAIL is considered a major milestone in supplying cooking gas to the eastern parts of Odisha.
Besides Dharmendra, Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi has been sworn in as minister of state (MoS). He has been made the junior minister in the ministry of MSME besides animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries. The 64-year-old Pratap will have Nitin Gadkari as his boss in the MSME ministry and Giriraj Singh in the other ministry.
“I am thankful to the Prime Minister who reposed his faith in me, the people of Balasore who elected me and also those who opposes me. I will strive hard to meet people’s expectations and serve the country,” Sarangi said, adding he would work under the guidance of the two senior ministers.
The decision to continue with Dharmendra in the petroleum ministry is being seen as the Modi dispensation’s efforts to ensure flagship projects such as Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), considered one of the factors behind BJP’s electoral success, scale new heights. While around seven crore women got cooking gas connections under PMUY in the past five years, the coverage of households having access to clean cooking gas jumped from 56% in 2014 to 94% at present.
Dharmendra said being an Odia he takes pride in the fact that he has been given charge of the steel ministry, which was previously held by Harekrushna Mahtab and Biju Patnaik, both former chief ministers of Odisha.
EoM