Will expedite Govt.'s 'Look East policy': Assam MP Gohain

Asserting to expedite the government's 'Look East policy', BJP's Nagaon MP Rajan Gohain on Tuesday expressed his delight at being inducted in the Cabinet and said that he would focus on development of the northeast.

"I am happy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted me into his cabinet. This is a great opportunity for me," Gohain told ANI while lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for betterment of the region.

"I want to expedite the progress of the country and the north-eastern region," he added.

The Nagaon lawmaker, who took oath today, further said he met the Arunachal Pradesh MP and Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and discussed about development of the northeastern states.

"I also had a chat with Kiren Rijiju and he said that both of us need to work along for the betterment of northeast," he added.

Gohain further praised Prime Minister Modi for giving significant importance to the northeastern region.

In a much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Modi earlier today inducted 19 new faces, who have been chosen after an exhaustive vetting process to carry forward the government's vision of 'Gaon, Garib aur Kisan'.

The new Ministers of State are Faggan Singh Kulste, S. S. Ahluwalia, Ramesh Jigjinagi, Vijay Goel, Ramdas Athawale, Rajen Gohain, Anil Madhav Dave, Parshottam Rupala, M. J. Akbar, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Jaswant Sinh Bhabhor, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Ajay Tamta, Krishna Raj, Mansukh Mandaviya, Anupriya Patel, C. R. Chaudhary, P. P. Chaudhary and Subhash Bhamre.

This is the second expansion of the Prime Minister Modi's government.

With today's induction, the total number of Ministers in the Union Council has gone up to 83.