Arjun Ram Meghwal has replaced Kiren Rijiju, taking over as the Minister of State for Law and Justice, less than a year after the Arunachal Pradesh MP was assigned the cabinet portfolio. Meghwal, who is currently the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and the Minister of State for Culture, will continue to hold his existing portfolios, according to the Rastrapati Bhavan press release.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Bikaner, Rajasthan, Meghwal is a retired IAS officer, who joined the administrative services and went on to serve as the District Magistrate (Collector) in the Government of Rajasthan.
A three-time MP, Meghwal is also a prominent Scheduled Caste leader. However, he did not previously hold a cabinet rank.
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In the year 2009, Meghwal was elected as the Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha from Bikaner constituency. Then, in the 2014 general election, he was re-elected. During his 2nd term, he was elected as the chief whip of BJP in the lower house. Lok Sabha Speaker also nominated him as the Chairman of House Committee.
He was appointed as the minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises in May 2019
Meghwal accession to the independent charge as Minister of State in the law ministry comes in the backdrop of Rijiju’s frequent run-ins with the Indian judicial system. According to the communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Droupadi Murmu, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reallocated the portfolios among ministers.
