Modi Cabinet 3.0: Kiren Rijiju Appointed as Minister Of Parliamentary Affairs And Minority Affairs

Kiren Rijiju has been inducted as a minister in the Narendra Modi government on Sunday, June 9. He was sworn in along with the Prime Minister-elect and the rest of the council of ministers. Kiren Rijiju is now part of Modi Cabinet 3.0 as a union minister. He has been appointed as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs as well as the Minister of Minority Affairs.

Kiren Rijiju is an Indian politician from Arunachal Pradesh who is the Cabinet Minister of Earth Sciences and Food Processing Industries in the Government of India since 2023 and 2024 and a member of the parliament in Lok Sabha from Arunachal West since 2014 and from 2004 to 2009. Earlier, he served as the Minister of State for Home Affairs from 2014 to 2019, Minister of State for Minority Affairs from 2019 to 2021, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Sports and Youth Affairs from 2019 to 2021 and the Law minister from 2021 to 2023.

Kiren Rijiju has been elected to the Lok Sabha from Arunachal Pradesh three times. He has served as Minister of State (MoS) with independent charge for Youth Affairs and Sports, MoS for Minority Affairs, MoS for Home Affairs, and Minister of Law and Justice. His time as Law Minister was marked by several controversies. On May 18, 2023, he was appointed as the Minister of Earth Sciences.

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Kiren Rijiju has been a significant minister in Narendra Modi’s cabinet since the BJP assumed power in 2014. Rijiju, who has been a member of the Lok Sabha representing Arunachal West since 2014 and previously from 2004 to 2009, is currently serving as the Minister of Earth Sciences. On May 18, 2023, he was removed from his position as Union Minister for Law and Justice and was succeeded by Arjun Ram Meghwal.

At 51, Rijiju assumed the role of law minister in July 2021. He was elevated to Cabinet rank from his previous position as a junior minister with independent charge of Youth Affairs and Sports. His promotion was unexpected for many, considering that despite being a law graduate, Rijiju was not part of the legal community.

Things turned against Rijiju after he clashed with the judiciary on various issues, including the appointment of judges, accountability, and court vacations. When the judiciary complained about delays in the appointment of judges, Rijiju responded, “If the government is sitting on files, then don’t send the files.”

Rijiju’s criticism provoked a strong response from the Supreme Court, reigniting the debate over the collegium system for appointing judges. During his tenure as law minister, the collegium, in an unprecedented move, made the government’s objections public.

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