Modi 2.0 Expansion: Ashwini Vaishnaw Takes Oath As Cabinet Minister

Bhubaneswar: Rajya Sabha member from Odisha Ashwini Vaishnaw has been inducted into the Union Cabinet of Modi 2.0.

He along with Narayan Tatu Rane, Sarbananda Sonowal, Dr Virendra Kumar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Pashupati Kumar Paras, Kiren Rijiju, Raj Kumar Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri, Bhupender Yadav, Parshottam Rupala and Mansukh Mandaviya took oath as ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday. The oath-taking ceremony is on.

A total of 43 ministers will be sworn in during the Cabinet expansion, the first in the second term of the Narendra Modi-led government.

Also Read: Cabinet Reshuffle: Vaishnaw & Tudu From Odisha Among 43 Ministers To Be Sworn In Today

A 1994-batch IAS officer, Vaishnaw is the lone Rajya Sabha member, representing the saffron party, from Odisha.

Interestingly, BJD president Naveen Patnaik had first announced Vaishnaw’s candidature for Rajya Sabha in 2019 but later backed him as a BJP candidate.

The bureaucrat-turned-entrepreneur had served a term in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s office as Private Secretary at the turn of the millennium and has vast experience in both public and private sectors. He is said to have a good rapport with Modi since the days when the latter was Gujarat CM.

Mayurbhanj MP Bishweswar Tudu will also be sworn in as a Union Minister.

Also Read: Modi 2.0 Expansion: Mayurbhanj MP Bishweswar Tudu Could Be The Surprise Pick; Know Why

Earlier in the day, Union Minister and Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi had resigned as Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. A total of 12 Union Ministers had quit ahead of the reshuffle.

Also Read: Modi Cabinet Overhaul: 12 Ministers Resign, Including 4 Heavyweights