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'Justice should be served to all': New law minister Arjun Meghwal shares vision
Meghwal was assigned the law and justice ministry as a part of mini-reshuffling, shifting Kiren Rijiju from his position.
Justice should be made available to all and the massive backlog of cases at all levels of India's judiciary is a problem that needs to be addressed, new union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said Thursday hours after he replaced Kiren Rijiju in that role. Meghwal, a Lok Sabha MP from poll0-bound Rajasthan, was appointed as Minister of State with independent charge of the law ministry this morning. He will retain two portfolios he already holds - MoS Parliamentary Affairs and Culture.
Rijiju has been shifted to the less glamorous Earth Sciences ministry after a series of controversial run-ins with the judiciary, including a stand-off over the collegium system of appointing judges.
After his appointment Meghwal spoke to news agency ANI and reached out to the judiciary, playing down any talk of confrontation between the executive and judiciary. "My topmost priority will be to ensure speedy justice to all," Meghwal told the press on his first visit to his new office.
What happened between Kiren Rijiju and the judiciary?
One of the biggest arguments between the outgoing law minister and the judiciary was about the collegium system, which the former slammed as 'opaque' and 'alien to the Constitution'. He also called it the 'only system in the world (in which) judges appoint people known to them'.
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Rijiju tried to assert the executive's role in the appointment of judges, stressing that judicial appointments are not a function of the judiciary and that its primary role is to decide cases.
In March the Arunachal Pradesh Lok Sabha MP claimed a few retired judges and some civil society activists were part of an 'anti-India gang' trying to turn the judiciary against the government.
'Been a privilege'
Tweeting after news of the mini reshuffle, Rijiju thanked prime minister Narendra Modi and chief justice DY Chandrachud. "It has been a privilege and an honour to serve as union minister of law & justice… " he tweeted after changing his Twitter bio to reflect his new responsibilities.
Who is Arjun Meghwal?
India's new law minister is a former bureaucrat and a prominent Scheduled Caste leader for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan, where the BJP - which was trounced by the Congress in last week's Karnataka election - is bidding to unseat its rival in polls in the western state later this year.
Meghwal is a three-time MP from Rajasthan's Bikaner and is known for championing the cause of the environment. He is often seen cycling to Parliament.
