India

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Mansukh Mandaviya took charge as the country's new health minister on Thursday.

Mandaviya, a BJP leader from Gujarat's Saurashtra region, replaces Dr Harsh Vardhan, who was dropped from the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.

His portfolio assumes utmost significance as the country is in battling a coronavirus pandemic.

Mandaviya will also lead the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Kiren Rijiju on Thursday took charge as the new minister of Law and Justice.

A prominent face from the northeast in the Modi government, Rijiju was on Wednesday elevated as a Cabinet minister in a major reshuffle and expansion of the Union Council of Ministers.

Rijiju takes over the key ministry from Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has resigned from the government.

The Law Ministry is responsible to defend the government in various courts through its law officers and help ministries draft bills and key documents.

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) John Barla, the BJP's Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal's Alipurduar, took charge as the Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs on Thursday.

He was welcomed by Union Minority Affairs Minister (Cabinet rank), Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, at the Antyodaya Bhawan, CGO Complex, here.

NEW DELHI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out a major reshuffle of his cabinet of ministers on Wednesday, inducting some new faces and removing as many as 12, bringing about an "all inclusive" face of the government.

Those who resigned included Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

Kanpur: With the green signal to the second phase of the underground Metro project, the traffic on the Bada Chauraha crossing and the Parade road will be closed.

To avoid traffic trouble the diversion plan of the vehicles will be prepared by the joint team of the Nagar Nigam, Traffic Police and the Metro project officers. 

Around one hundred meter patch will be used on both the roads for excavation and other related works.

New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Ahead of a major cabinet reshuffle, Union Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on Wednesday.

Supriyo confirmed his resignation through a post on social media, "I have been asked to resign and I have."

"I thank Prime Minister for giving me the privilege to serve my country as a Member of his Council of Ministers, he posted on his Facebook account.

New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, whose handling of the COVID-19 crisis drew flak from critics, resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on Wednesday, official sources said.

The resignation came hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi carries out a major expansion and reshuffle of his Council of Ministers in which 43 new members are expected to take oath.

Mumbai, Jul 6 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday dismissed rumours that the Shiv Sena and BJP may come together again, and also slammed the opposition party for its conduct during the state legislature's just-concluded monsoon session.

Speculation was rife in political circles in the last few days over possible reconciliation between the Thackeray-led Sena and the BJP which parted ways after the 2019 Assembly elections.

Indore, Jul 6 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the Rafale fighter jet deal, like the one which scrutinized the Bofors deal in the 1980s.

The Rajya Sabha member alleged large-scale corruption in the form of payment of commission in the Rafale deal.

Guwahati, Jul 6 (PTI) The National Investigation Agency has filed two appeals in the Gauhati High Court challenging the orders passed by the NIA Special Court relating to the release of Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi and six others.

The NIA court on June 22 and July 1 cleared Gogoi of all charges in the two cases against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 for his alleged role in violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Assam.

His six associates were also released by the court.