India News | Seven Junior Ministers Elevated to Cabinet Rank

New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Seven members of the Union Council of Ministers were elevated as cabinet ministers on Wednesday for their persistent performance in their respective portfolios.

At Wednesday's expansion and reshuffle of the council of ministers, Kiren Rijiju, Raj Kumar Singh, Hardeep Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya, G Kishan Reddy, Parshottam Rupala and Anurag Singh Thakur were elevated as cabinet ministers.

Rijiju, a prominent face from the northeast in the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the minister of state (independent charge) in the Ministry of Youth and Sports before the rejig. He was also an MoS in the minority affairs ministry.

A former Union home secretary, Singh was the MoS with independent charge in the power and new and renewable energy ministries. He was also an MoS in the Ministry of Skill Development.

A surprise pick during a cabinet expansion in 2017, Puri, a former diplomat, was given two important portfolios -- housing and urban affairs and aviation -- in the BJP-led government's second term.

As the housing and urban affairs minister, he has been piloting the Central Vista project, the pet project of the Modi government which is slated to revamp a considerable portion of the Lutyen's Zone in Delhi.

When the government was facing an intense attack over the Central Vista project, Puri took on the Opposition strongly while defending the initiative.

Son of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran from Himachal Pradesh Prem Kumar Dhumal, Thakur was the minister of state in the ministries of finance and corporate affairs.

He has often hit out at the critics of the government inside and outside Parliament.

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