BJP leader and Union Minister Piyush Goyal have been appointed as the new leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha, replacing Thawarchand Gehlot who had been shunted out of the Union Cabinet in the recently held cabinet expansion of the Modi government. Goyal had earlier served as deputy leader in Rajya Sabha.
Piyush Goyal is a member of the union cabinet and looks after several portfolios- the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution, and the Textile Ministry. He also served as the union railway minister but the post was given to ex- IAS officer Ashwini Vaishnaw in the cabinet expansion undertaken by PM Modi earlier this month. Goyal was given the responsibility of the Textiles ministry in the expansion from Smriti Irani.
He has remained a member of the Rajya Sabha for the BJP since 2010. Being the house leader, Goyal will now be seated on the first seat of Rajya Sabha, alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Piyush Goyal, son of BJP leader Ved Prakash Goyal, is considered to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who considers him a great performer. His appointment as the Rajya Sabha leader is crucial with the Parliament’s monsoon session starting next week from July 19.
However, despite his new appointment, Goyal has not been inducted into the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs where leaders like Smriti Irani, Bhupender Yadav, and Sarbananda Sonowal were bought in as new members yesterday.
Goyal’s predecessor, Thawarchand Gehlot was removed from the union cabinet and has been appointed as the new governor for the state of Karnataka.
