The list of new ministers for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term was announced on Friday, 31 May. While he chose Amit Shah as the Home Minister, Rajnath Singh has been given the Defence portfolio. Nirmala Sitharaman has been allocated the Ministry of Finance and Ministry for Corporate Affairs while Nitin Gadkari will be the Minister of Road Transport and Highways.
A few surprises were in store as well. Familiar faces like Maneka Gandhi, Jayant Sinha and Suresh Prabhu; young faces like Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore were dropped from the list. Senior BJP leaders like Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj opted out due to health reasons.
Twitter had a lot to say on the portfolio allocations and as expected flooded the platform with a variety of opinions. Among the voices, some concerns were also raised.
Journalist Nistula Hebbar said she was surprised at the exclusion of Rajyavardhan Rathore. “Did much for sports and was a responsive I&B Minister. Hope he makes it back at some point in the future,” she tweeted.
One Twitter user pointed out the under-representation of Tamils and Muslims in the Cabinet.
Home Ministry Concerns
Some expressed concern over Amit Shah as the new Home Minister. “Not even been two months since this person promised to remove all infiltrators from the country except Hindus, Sikhs and "Buddha", and now he is the Home minister of the country. How to remain calm and undisturbed?” asked one Twitter user.
Alt News founder Pratik Sinha echoed the same concern.
Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani also commented on Amit Shah being handed the Home Ministry. “Achhe Din ahead for women safety and privacy,” his sarcastic tweet read.
Another Twitter user tweeted about Amit Shah. “The amount of data census 2021 will give him along with all surveillance infrastructure makes him the most powerful man in India,” he said.
Others disagreed, saying it is not a big deal as the last five years were a clear indication.
Defence Ministry
One Twitter user commented on new Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s portfolio allocation. “Another high official (this one 67 years) will now start learning about the military and defence industry. Not holding my breath,” he wrote.
Congrats to Smriti Irani
Journalist Faye D’souza congratulated Smriti Irani on her new role as Minister for Women and Child Welfare. “We need a strong woman like yourself in this extremely important post. More than half the population looks to you now,” she tweeted.
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