Arjun Ram Meghwal has been appointed as the new Union Law Minister as Kiren Rijiju has been shifted to the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Arjun Ram Meghwal will now have independent charge of the Ministry of Culture, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Law
BJP leader Arjun Ram Meghwal was on Thursday appointed as the new Union Law Minister after Kiren Rijiju was shifted to the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Rijiju was ousted days later for criticizing the collegium system for appointment of judges.
A statement from the President said: “The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, directs the following reallocation of portfolios among Ministers in the Union Council of Ministers: (i) the portfolio of the Ministry of Earth Sciences to be assigned to Kiren Rijiju; (ii) Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State to be given independent charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice in place of Kiren Rijiju, in addition to his existing portfolios.”
Meghwal will now have independent charge of the Ministry of Culture, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Law.
Who is Arjun Singh Meghwal
Meghwal completed his graduation in law in 1977, following which he did his post graduation. In 1982, he passed the RAS exam and was selected for the Rajasthan Industrial Service.
He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the first time in 2009, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party from the Bikaner constituency. He was re-elected in 2014
And was made the chief whip of the BJP in the Lok Sabha.
Why was Kiren Rijiju removed from the post of Law Minister?
Reacting to the development, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said it was an “informal change”. “He was constantly questioning the judiciary,” he said.
Speaking to News18, Congress leader Manickam Tagore also said that Rijiju was ousted because “the central government now wants to avoid a clash between the executive and the judiciary”.
Rijiju has been very vocal about the ongoing tussle between the executive and the judiciary over the process of appointment of judges. He had on several occasions criticized the collegium system for the appointment of judges, saying it was the result of the “adventure” of the Congress party.
Rijiju also said that judges were paying more attention to their administrative duties rather than judicial ones. He claimed that because of the system, judges are only appointing people they know and do not necessarily have the qualifications to appoint.
in an interview given to times now Last year, the former law minister said the collegium system was “alien” to the Indian Constitution. He said, ‘You tell me under which provision the collegium system has been prescribed.’
Soon after the reshuffle, Rijiju’s Twitter bio also changed.
(details to follow)
