Union minister for commerce and industry, Piyush Goyal, will be the new Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha, a recognition, not just for his organisational abilities but also his relationships across the aisle, people familiar with the developments said.
Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi announced the appointment on social media; “Congratulations to @PiyushGoyal ji on being appointed the Leader of House in Rajya Sabha. He has been entrusted by PM @NarendraModi ji with key responsibility. Wishing him continued vigour in the service to the nation.”
A Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, Goyal will take over the position following the elevation of Thawar Chand Gehlot as the Governor of Karnataka. There is no word yet on who Goyal’s deputy in the Upper House will be.
The Congress, too, decided that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will continue to be leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, after Rahul Gandhi seemed to have little interest in taking up the leadership position in the Lower House. There was intense speculation that Chowdhury might be removed from the post.
The 57-year old, who was earlier the deputy leader in the house, was the front-runner for the post, although the names of his Cabinet colleagues finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan were mentioned as possible contenders.
{{/usCountry}}The 57-year old, who was earlier the deputy leader in the house, was the front-runner for the post, although the names of his Cabinet colleagues finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan were mentioned as possible contenders.
{{/usCountry}}In his capacity as the deputy leader of the house, Goyal played a key role in reaching out to assuage the concerns of the opposition during and after the passage of the contentious farm bills that led to disruption of Parliament proceedings earlier.
“He (Goyal) is friendly and reaches out, often meeting opposition members for coffee in the central hall,” said an opposition MP in the Upper House.
While Chowdhury will continue to be the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha Leader of Party of the Congress Mallikarjun Kharge has been entrusted the task of coordinating with leaders of other parties.
Manish Tewari’s name was mentioned as a possible replacement for Chowdhury but people in the party said he is likely to get a major responsibility in poll-bound Punjab.