Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 19

The BJP today appointed Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as the Deputy Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha. Naqvi succeeds Piyush Goyal, who was promoted as the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha after the appointment of Thawarchand Gehlot as the Karnataka Governor.

Incidentally, Naqvi happens to be among the very few members from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government who were retained by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the recent Cabinet reshuffle.

A former Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Naqvi is known to have cordial relations across party lines and knows how to engage with the opposition when faced with tricky issues.

His appointment comes at a time when the government is facing tough questions from the Opposition on a variety of issues, including price rise, Covid-19 management, farmers’ agitation and now on reports alleging use of Pegasus software to spy on Indians.