Dharmendra Pradhan thanks PM Modi for considering him capable for Cabinet position

Dharmendra Pradhan, who was among the ones to have been given a Cabinet berth thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for considering him capable of this position.

Talking to the media here, Pradhan said, "I am obliged to Prime Minister Modi that he has given me the responsibility of this position. I also obliged to all the members of party and senior leaders who considered me capable for this position."

Reiterating Prime Minister Modi' resolution on 'New India by 2022', the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas averred that the motive of the people is to take India to newer heights by the 75th year of Independence in 2022.

"All of us are working in that context only," he added.

Following a mega Union Cabinet reshuffle at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the ministers, who have taken oath today and said that their experience and wisdom would add immense value to the Council of Ministers.

He took to Twitter and said, "I congratulate all those who have taken oath today. Their experience & wisdom will add immense value to the Council of Ministers."

The Prime Minister particularly congratulated Dharmendra Pradhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, Mukhtal Abbas Naqvi, and Piyush Goyal.

"I congratulate my colleagues @dpradhanbjp, @PiyushGoyal, @nsitharaman and @naqvimukhtar on joining the Union Cabinet," he further tweeted.

The Cabinet rejig saw the promotion of as many as four Ministers of State to the rank of Cabinet ministers today.

Dharmendra Pradhan, the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, took the oath as the Cabinet ministers at the ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Pradhan is known to have spearheaded one of Prime Minister Modi's main schemes - the "Give it Up" plan for people to forego subsidised cooking gas or LPG voluntarily.

Beside managing to maintain ties with the Opposition parties, Naqvi has done wonders for the Union Government as the spokesperson in the Parliament and outside.

Nirmala Sitharaman, serving as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as well as a Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Finance headed by Arun Jaitley, also took the oath.

Sitharaman had travelled to China for a BRICS meeting, in the middle of a lengthy standoff at the border over Doklam.

Piyush Goyal, the Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, was also sworn-in as the Cabinet minister. He had brought about a turnaround in power production and delivered on the government's plan to electrify villages.

Other ministers who were handed over bigger responsibilities are:

-Shiv Pratap Shukla

-Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Buxar, Bihar

-Virendra Kumar, a Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgah, Madhya Pradesh

-Anant Kumar Hegde, a Lok Sabha MP from Uttara Kannada, Karnataka

-Raj Kumar Singh

-Hardeep Puri

-Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

-Satya Pal Singh

-Alphons Kannanthanam, a distinguished former IAS officer of the 1979 batch, Kerala cadre

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to leave for China wherein he would attend the BRICS Summit.