India News

Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s new defence minister, biggest gainer in Sunday’s reshuffle

Published

9 years ago

September 3, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Piyush Goyal gets railways, Prabhu moved to commerce ministry while Uma Bharati stripped off water resources portfolio

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi re-allocated portfolios to his council of ministers on Sunday, shortly before flying off to Xiamen, China for the BRICS summit, he made his imprint absolutely clear – those firmly associated with him, like Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal were rewarded with high-profile ministries, while BJP leaders who once enjoyed plum roles under Atal Bihari Vajpayee saw their stature diminished.

The biggest gainer in Sunday’s mega-expansion was clearly Nirmala Sitharaman. Not only did Modi award the former junior minister for commerce with a cabinet rank but he also elevated her straight to the elite ‘top five’ club of ministers, giving her the crucial defence portfolio. Sitharaman will now be part of the powerful Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), sharing space with the Prime Minister and veterans Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley – ministers for home affairs, external affairs and finance respectively. Sitharaman becomes only the second woman since Indira Gandhi to hold the portfolio of India’s defence minister.

The other real winner in the reshuffle is Piyush Goyal, who was also elevated from being a minister of state with independent charge to a cabinet rank and moved to head Railways ministry while also holding charge of the coal portfolio. Suresh Prabhu, who had offered to resign as railway minister after two train derailments happened in quick succession two weeks back, has been moved to head Sitharaman’s erstwhile portfolio of commerce. As the new railway minister, the technologically savvy and articulate Goyal will have to implement a major image-makeover for the world’s largest rail network, which for several years now has been under criticism for poor maintenance, rising accidents, appalling catering services and lack of modernization.

Although Dharmendra Pradhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi were elevated to the rank of cabinet ministers, they can’t be seen as major gainers in terms of their role in government. The two have been promoted but will still head the same portfolios as before – Pradhan leading the petroleum ministry while Naqvi at the helm of the minority affairs portfolio. Though Pradhan has been given new charge of the skill development ministry – which until two days back was headed by LK Advani acolyte Rajiv Pratap Rudy who was forced to resign – Naqvi, who had performed well as junior minister for parliamentary affairs has been made to shed that charge and limit himself to the predictable role of minority affairs minister, a role he anyway played, albeit showing little merit.

In a way, though Narendra Modi succeeded in making a big bang with the new look of his cabinet, he seems to have faltered in assigning roles to his new teammates as per their respective areas of expertise.

Take for instance career diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri and former IAS KJ Alphons who have both been inducted as ministers of state with independent charge. While Puri would have proven a good hand in the external affairs portfolio – where Modi needs all the help he can due to his government’s rather sketchy foreign policy – he has been given charge of the ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Similarly, Alphons, who had a proven track record on matters related to urban and town planning has been given independent charge of the tourism ministry and will also serve as minister of state for electronics and information technology.

Uma Bharati, another BJP veteran from the sidelined Atal-Advani camp, has been stripped off her charge of the Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation ministry. While Nitin Gadkari, who was tipped to become the railway minister but lost out apparently because he didn’t want the additional burden, has been given charge of the mammoth Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation ministry along with his current responsibility of the Road transport and Shipping portfolio, Bharati will now have to cool her heels as minister of the low key Drinking Water and Sanitation ministry. But then the Sadhvi should perhaps just be happy that she is still a cabinet minister; Modi had ostensibly wanted her to quit.

While Atal-Advani loyalist Kalraj Mishra has had to resign and his portfolio of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has been reassigned to the controversial Giriraj Singh, who was promoted to the rank of minister of state with Independent charge of the same ministry in which he was earlier Mishra’s junior, ministers like Vijay Goel and Bandaru Dattatreya who enjoyed key responsibilities under the Vajpayee government were big losers on Sunday.

Goel, who was earlier MoS with independent charge of the Sports ministry will now be junior minister for Parliamentary Affairs; Statistics and Programme Implementation. The charge of the Youth Affairs and Sports ministry has been given to Rajyavardhan Rathore, who has been promoted to MoS independent charge with additional responsibility of being junior minister for Information and Broadcasting. Dattatreya, who was minister for Labour has been summarily dropped from the Cabinet.

Newly inducted minister RK Singh has been given independent charge of Power, New and Renewable Energy (earlier headed by Piyush Goyal), while Manoj Sinha has been elevated to MoS independent charge and will head the Communications ministry while continuing to serve as junior minister for railways.

The responsibilities of the other newly inducted ministers of state is as follows: Shiv Pratap Shukla – Finance, Ashwini Kumar Choubey – Health and Family Welfare, Virendra Kumar – Women and Child Development; Minority Affairs, Anantkumar Hegde – Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat – Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Satya Pal Singh – HRD, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

Contrary to speculation, the Prime Minister has not reduced the burden of several ministers who were expected to shed the additional charge of ministries that they were asked to head in recent months, nor has he weeded out some obvious non-performing and controversial ministers like Radha Mohan Singh, who will continue to serve as the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Although Arun Jaitley has, on expected lines, shed his additional responsibility of the Defence portfolio, Smriti Irani retains the charge of both Information and Broadcasting and Textile ministries.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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India News

Mallikarjun Kharge seeks all-party meeting with PM Modi on delimitation

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the fourth time, seeking an all-party meeting on delimitation. He also flagged the 64-day delay in proroguing Parliament’s Monsoon Session.

Published

8 mins ago

October 16, 2026

APNLive Desk

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has renewed his demand for an all-party meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the government’s proposed delimitation exercise, arguing that political parties must have adequate time to examine the proposals before they are finalised for consideration in Parliament.

In a letter to the prime minister on Friday, October 16, Kharge also raised concerns over what he described as an unprecedented delay in formally proroguing Parliament’s Monsoon Session. He said 64 days had passed since the session was adjourned sine die on August 13, while both Houses were yet to be prorogued.

Kharge seeks wider consultations on delimitation

Kharge said he had first written to Modi on April 11, requesting an all-party meeting before the government introduced a constitutional amendment bill concerning delimitation.

According to the Congress president, the government did not convene the requested meeting before making the bills public late on April 14 and calling a special session of Parliament on April 16.

The constitutional amendment bill on delimitation subsequently failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on April 17.

Kharge said he had again written to the prime minister on July 16 and August 27, reiterating his demand for consultations. In his latest letter, he made the request for the fourth time, asking the government to discuss its revised proposals with political parties before finalising them for parliamentary consideration.

The Congress chief stressed that political parties should receive sufficient time to discuss the proposals among themselves and with other stakeholders.

He also cautioned the government against attempting to push through another far-reaching constitutional amendment without adequate deliberation.

Congress raises concern over Parliament session

Apart from delimitation, Kharge highlighted the delay in proroguing the Monsoon Session, which was adjourned sine die on August 13.

He described the 64-day gap as unprecedented and linked the issue to concerns about possible government plans to bring fresh delimitation proposals before Parliament.

Prorogation formally ends a parliamentary session. Kharge’s letter raised the issue while urging the government to ensure wider political consultation before proceeding with any new legislative proposals.

Jairam Ramesh shares Kharge’s letter

Congress general secretary for communications Jairam Ramesh also drew attention to the letter by sharing it on X.

Ramesh said Kharge had written to Modi about the delay in proroguing the Monsoon Session and the possibility of further government moves on delimitation.

The Congress’s latest demand centres on securing time for political parties to examine the government’s proposals before they are finalised for consideration in Parliament.

India News

Abhijeet Dipke detained ahead of CJP’s national flag march in Delhi

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained by Delhi Police on October 16, 2026, shortly before a planned national flag march. The proposed rally followed the judicial custody of two CJP members who had waved the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar.

Published

1 hour ago

October 16, 2026

APNLive Desk

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained by Delhi Police on Friday, October 16, shortly before he was due to participate in a planned national flag march in the capital.

According to the report, police personnel reached Dipke’s residence and detained him just minutes before the proposed ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ rally. The march was planned in Delhi amid tensions over restrictions on demonstrations and the detention of CJP members.

The latest detention marks the second time Dipke has been detained within a week. He was previously detained after arriving at Delhi’s airport from Mumbai for a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Why was the national flag march planned?

One of the main triggers for the planned march was the judicial custody of two CJP members, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.

The two were sent to five-day judicial custody after entering Jantar Mantar while waving the national flag on October 13. The incident occurred a day after the historic protest site was denotified as a protest location, according to the report.

The proposed march was called ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’. CJP planned the rally amid its continuing opposition to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities.

The allegations concerning voter-list manipulation remain allegations and should not be presented as established findings.

Police had issued a notice before the detention

Before detaining Dipke, Delhi Police personnel visited his residence and served him a notice advising him against holding the proposed march.

The notice was issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), according to the report. It stated that prohibitory orders were in force in the Connaught Place area.

The notice also cited the absence of permission from the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for the proposed Tiranga Yatra. It warned that proceeding with the march despite the restrictions would be considered a violation of the law.

The detention came amid heightened attention to the proposed gathering in central Delhi and the dispute over whether the planned march could proceed under the prevailing restrictions.

A second detention in a week

Dipke’s latest detention followed his earlier detention at Delhi airport after he arrived from Mumbai for a planned protest over the SIR exercise and allegations concerning voter-list manipulation.

The latest episode adds to the ongoing confrontation between CJP and the authorities over its proposed demonstrations. The immediate context for the October 16 march was the judicial custody of two party members following their appearance at Jantar Mantar with the national flag.

The report does not establish that the allegations of electoral manipulation are proven, nor does it provide a final judicial determination of the dispute surrounding the planned march.

India News

Delhi deploys 25,000 personnel, installs CCTV cameras ahead of CJP march

More than 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in Delhi ahead of the CJP’s planned protest march at Connaught Place. Authorities have also imposed restrictions and stepped up CCTV surveillance.

Published

11 hours ago

October 16, 2026

APNLive Desk

Delhi has stepped up security ahead of a planned protest march by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), with more than 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel deployed and additional surveillance measures introduced in parts of the national capital.

The planned “Lehra Do Tiranga” march is scheduled to take place at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday, October 16. Authorities have also imposed prohibitory orders in Connaught Place and surrounding areas as part of the security arrangements.

Security tightened across Connaught Place

The security arrangements include the deployment of police and paramilitary personnel, along with the installation of additional CCTV cameras at Central Park and Rajiv Chowk Metro Station.

Prohibitory orders have been imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Connaught Place and nearby areas. Central Park is also scheduled to remain closed for two days, with authorities advising the public to avoid the area during the arrangements.

A high-level meeting chaired by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, attended by senior police officers, was held on Thursday to review preparations ahead of the planned demonstration.

Why CJP is planning the march

The CJP has called the march to protest the arrest of its leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka and to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in voter rolls.

The party’s protest is centred on its allegations concerning the electoral roll revision process. These are the protesters’ claims and should not be treated as independently established findings.

With Jantar Mantar no longer designated as a protest site, Central Park in Connaught Place has emerged as the proposed location for the fresh demonstration. The protest has also received support from the Aam Aadmi Party and the All India Students’ Association, according to the report.

Traders raise concerns over business disruptions

The heightened security measures have also prompted concerns among traders in the area.

Traders at Palika Bazaar have expressed concern about disruptions during the festive season, pointing to losses associated with previous protests. The concerns reflect the potential impact of repeated demonstrations and security restrictions on commercial activity in central Delhi.

Delhi Police has said it will facilitate peaceful demonstrators selectively while maintaining public order and protecting property.