Modi’s Cabinet revamp: What the new ministers said after assuming office

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought about the most sweeping change in his Council of Ministers since he took charge for the first time in 2014, newly appointed Union ministers took charge of their respective ministries on Thursday.

Here’s what they said on the first day at the helm

Ashwini Vaishnaw

The bureaucrat-entrepreneur-turned-politician, Vaishnaw, was among the first to take charge as the new Minister of Railways. He also took charge as the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.

After taking charge of the two assignments, Vaishnaw said, “I thank the honourable prime minister for the great opportunity he has given me to serve the nation. Telecommunications, IT and Railways. There are lots of synergies in the three and I will be working to ensure that his vision is implemented.”

“Excellent work has been done in the railways over the past 67 years. I am here to take the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi forward,” he said after taking charge as Railways minister.

Ashwini Vaishnaw (Photo: Twitter/@AshwiniVaishnaw)

Later, after assuming charge as the IT Minister, Vaishnaw said: “The law of the land should be abided by everyone.” The remark by the minister comes amid the open tussle between the Centre and Twitter over the new IT rules.

Anurag Thakur

Anurag Thakur took charge as the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Interacting with reporters, he said PM Modi has given him a huge responsibility and he will make best efforts to fulfil it. He added that reaching out to the masses through the Information and Broadcasting Ministry will be his main area of focus.

Anurag Thakur (Photo: Twitter/@Anurag_Office)

“Modi ji has done fantastic work in the last seven years. My endeavour will be to meet his expectations, reach out to maximum people and take the legacy of my predecessors forward,” he said.

Bhupender Yadav

Bhupender Yadav, who assumed charge of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and as the Labour Minister, said, “I am grateful to the Prime Minister. I have already taken charge as labour minister. Now I take charge as environment minister. I will put my best foot forward to fulfil the responsibility given to me by the PM and the confidence he has shown in me.”

Bhupender Yadav (Photo: Twitter/@byadavbjp)

Mansukh Mandaviya

Mansukh Mandaviya, who took charge as the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, replacing Dr Harsh Vardhan, said he is committed to realizing Prime Minister Modi’s dream of a healthy India.

Mansukh Mandaviya (Photo: Twitter/@mansukhmandviya)

John Barla

Barla, who took charge as the Minister of State for Minority Affairs, thanked Prime Minister Modi for entrusting him with this assignment and said he would make all efforts to fulfil his responsibilities.

John Barla with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (Photo: Twitter/@johnbarlabjp)

Dharmendra Pradhan

Dharmendra Pradhan took charge as the Minister of Education; and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He said: “Guided by PM Modi’s vision, we are committed to working with a forward-thinking attitude in inculcating a culture of innovation, encouraging research, entrepreneurship, incubation centres and developing futuristic solutions in higher education for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

Dharmendra Pradhan (Photo: Twitter/@dpradhanbjp)

Raj Kumar Singh

Singh, who assumed charge as the Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, expressed gratitude to PM Modi for giving him the responsibility and said the PM has shown great confidence. “We will live up to that,” he said.

Further, speaking to reporters, Raj Kumar Singh said, “We have achieved targets of electrification set by the Prime Minister well before the schedule and will strive to ensure that the benefits of power and energy sector reach the common man.”

Raj Kumar Singh (Photo: Twitter/@dpradhanbjp)

Kiren Rijiju

Kiren Rijiju took charge as the Union Minister of Law and Justice. “Under the leadership of PM Modi, I look forward to fulfilling this new responsibility with full dedication and commitment,” he said.

Kiren Rijiju (Photo: Twitter/@KirenRijiju)

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Scindia, after assuming charge as the Minister of Civil Aviation, said he is looking forward to working under the guidance and vision of PM Modi to build a strong aviation sector for ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

Jyotiraditya Scindia (Photo: Twitter/@SuhasBhagatBJP)

Hardeep Singh Puri

Hardeep Singh Puri took charge as the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, replacing Dharmendra Pradhan. After assuming charge, Puri said he is looking forward to the continued support of MoS Rameswar Teli in his new role.

Hardeep Singh Puri (Photo: Twitter/@HardeepSPuri)

In a major Union Cabinet makeover, PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday dropped 12 ministers including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and brought Sarbananda Sonowal, Narayan Rane and Scindia, and 33 other new faces to his Council of Ministers.

The Council of Ministers which had depleted from 57 — when the new government took over in May 2019 — to 53 after resignation and exit of allies will now be a massive 77-member strong.