Rijiju’s Replacement As Law Minister Not a Pre-Cursor To Further Cabinet Reshuffles: Sources

Kiren Rijiju was today replaced as Union Law Minister and handed over the Earth Sciences Ministry. He was replaced by Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

This was one of the biggest changes in the Cabinet since the Narendra Modi government came back to power in 2019. However the question that is being asked if this is a pre-cursor to further reshuffles in the Union Cabinet.

Sources in the know of things tell OneIndia that there is no such precursor and this was a one-off decision. There is unlikely to be anymore change in the Union Cabinet ahead of the elections to be held in 2024, the source cited above said.

In a tweet following the decision by the government, Rijiju too to Twitter and wrote, "it has been been a privelege and an honour to serve as Union Minister of Law & Justice under the guidance of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji. I thank honble Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, all Judges of Supreme Court, Chief Justices and Judges of High Courts, Lower Judiciary & entire Law officers for the huge support in ensuring delivering ease of Justice and providing legal services for our citizens. I look forward to fulfilling the vision of Hon'ble PM Sh @narendramodi ji in the Earth Sciences Ministry with the same zeal and vigour I have imbibed as a humble karyakarta of @BJP4India."

Rijiju had taken on the judiciary on several issues right from the appointment of judges to accountability of court vacations.

Meghwal became the Member of Parliament from the Bikaner constituency in Rajasthan in the year 2009. In the 2014 he was re-elected. During his second term as MP, he was the chief whip of the BJP in the Lok Sabha. He was also nominated as the chairman of the House Committee in the Lok Sabha by the Speaker of the House. In 2019, he became minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.