E-Paper
A week after Yogi ministry expansion:No large-scale reshuffle, 8 UP ministers get portfolios
Former UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary gets MSME, former SP minister Manoj Kumar Pandey allocated food and civil supplies dept; state cabinet meeting today
: A week after the expansion of the Uttar Pradesh council of ministers, eight ministers – six newly inducted ones and two elevated to independent charge – have been given portfolios, putting to rest speculation about a possible large-scale reshuffle.
An official spokesman confirmed that the eight ministers sworn in on May 10 have been allocated portfolios. Governor Anandiben Patel has issued a notification in this regard following the recommendation of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, said the spokesman.
The chief minister divested himself of some key portfolios, took portfolios from two cabinet colleagues and gave them to others.
The chief minister has convened a state cabinet meeting on Monday, the first after portfolio allocation.
Among the two newly inducted cabinet ministers, former Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary has been made minister for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME), a portfolio taken from Rakesh Sachan who retains charge of khadi and village industry, silk industry, handlooms and textiles.
Another new cabinet minister Manoj Kumar Pandey, a former Samajwadi Party minister, has been given the food and civil supplies portfolio that the chief minister was holding till now.
Adityanath has also divested himself of the food security and drug administration portfolio and allocated the same to Ajit Singh Pal who was elevated as minister of state (independent charge). Similarly the chief minister has divested himself of Sainik Kalyan and Prantiya Raksha Dal portfolio and given them to Somendra Tomar who, too, was elevated as minister of state (independent charge). Cabinet minister Dharampal Singh has been divested of the political pension portfolio and the same has been given to Tomar now.
Four newly inducted ministers of state too have been given portfolios and they will work under the cabinet minister incharge of the respective department. Krishna Paswan has been made minister of state for animal husbandry and dairy development (Dharampal Singh holds this portfolio as cabinet minister) while Kailash Singh Rajput becomes minister of state for energy and additional sources of energy (AK Sharma holds this portfolio as cabinet minister). Hans Raj Vishwakarma becomes minister of state for MSME (Bhupendra Chaudhary gets the portfolio as cabinet minister) while Surendra Diler becomes minister of state for revenue (the chief minister continues to hold the revenue portfolio).
