Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to be deputy leader of House in Rajya Sabha

Naqvi will be succeeding Union minister of commerce Piyush Goyal, who has now taken over as the leader of House in the Rajya Sabha. Naqvi, 63, was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2016 and is known for his vast knowledge of parliamentary affairs.

Union minister of minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was on Monday appointed as the deputy leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha. Naqvi will be succeeding Union minister of commerce Piyush Goyal, who has now taken over as the leader of House in the Rajya Sabha.

In 2014, Naqvi was made the minister of state for parliamentary affairs and minority affairs during the first term of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.(HT file photo)

Naqvi, 63, was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2016 and is known for his vast knowledge of parliamentary affairs. He had been a student leader and was jailed in 1975 during the Emergency. In 2014, Naqvi was made the minister of state for parliamentary affairs and minority affairs during the first term of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

His appointment as the deputy leader of the Rajya Sabha came on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament. The session will go on till August 13.

The first day of the session was mostly chaotic as opposition parties hit out at the central government over several issues including rise in prices, farm laws and the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

In the Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned multiple times during the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unable to introduce his newly inducted ministers as opposition parties started raising slogans against rising fuel prices in the country.

Condemning this code of conduct in Parliament, PM Modi questioned the mentality of opposition of not allowing him to introduce women, Dalit and OBC MPs who have been made ministers, adding some opposition leaders did not want to hear the names of the ministers and give them the due respect.

(With agency inputs)