Guwahati: In a surprising turn of events today, Kiren Rijiju has been removed from his position as the Union Law Minister and replaced by Arjun Ram Meghwal, signalling an unexpected change in the government just a year before the national election.
Kiren Rijiju, widely recognized as one of the government’s most prominent ministers and a skilled troubleshooter, has been reassigned to the relatively low-profile Ministry of Earth Sciences.
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This move comes less than a year after his promotion to the Law Ministry with cabinet status, highlighting the unexpected nature of the reshuffle.
Arjun Ram Meghwal, previously serving as the Minister of State in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, will now assume the additional responsibility of Independent Charge of the Law Ministry.
It may be mentioned that this is the first time in recent history that the Law Minister will not hold cabinet rank.
The change was announced this morning through a brief statement issued from the President’s House, citing the advice of the Prime Minister.
Shortly after the announcement, Rijiju updated his Twitter bio to reflect the new development.
In 2015, Rijiju courted controversy when he allegedly remarked that he ate beef.
“I eat beef, I’m from Arunachal Pradesh, can somebody stop me? So let us not be touchy about somebody’s practices,” a newspaper quoted Rijiju as saying.
The Union Minister, however, clarified that he had been “misquoted”.