"Shifting not a punishment": Kiren Rijiju on losing law ministry
May 19, 2023
New Delhi [India], May 19 : Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who has been shifted from the Ministry of Law to Earth Sciences, on Friday said his portfolio shifting is not a punishment but a government plan.
"Opposition will definitely criticise me...opposition speaking against me is not a new thing. This shifting is not a punishment, this is the plan of the government, this is the vision of PM Modi..." Rijiju told reporters after taking charge of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Asked whether the shifting was due to his recent critical comments on Judiciary, evading the question he said this is not the day to talk about politics.
Rijiju took over as the Law and Justice Minister on July 8, 2021. He served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Youth Affairs and Sports from May 2019 to July 2021
In a major Cabinet reshuffle, Arjun Ram Meghwal has replaced Kiren Rijiju as the Union and Justice Minister, a communique from President's Secretariat said on Thursday.
Meghwal will also get existing portfolios of Rijiju apart from the Law and Justice Ministry as a part of this reshuffle.
Kiren Rijijiu has been assigned to the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
"The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has been pleased to direct the following reallocation of portfolios among Ministers in the Union Council of Ministers, the portfolio of Ministry of Earth Sciences be assigned to Kiren Rijiju and Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State be assigned the independent charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice in addition to his existing portfolios, in place of Shri Kiren Rijiju," the communique added.
