Soft-spoken Santosh Gangwar becomes Cabinet minister in Modi 2.0

Known for his simplicity and honesty, Santosh Gangwar, who has been elected as Lok Sabha member from Rohilkhand region for the eighth time, sworn in as a Cabinet minister Thursday.

Gangwar was Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge) in the outgoing Modi government.

Taking a plunge into politics during the days of Emergency, Gangwar was jailed for guiding a people's movement against then government. He made an entry into the national arena in 1989 when he was elected from Bareilly in the ninth Lok Sabha on a BJP ticket.

He went on to represent Bareilly as BJP MP until 2009 when he had to face defeat by a narrow margin. He, however, returned in 2014 as an MP going on to become a minister in the Narendra Modi government.

Soft-spoken, Gangwar had stirred a controversy in April 2018 when he had said that "one should not make a big deal" about rape in a country as large as India. A law graduate from Rohilkhand University, Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Gangwar is among senior-most parliamentarians in the country.

During his long political career spanning decades, Gangwar has held various responsibilities including that of Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas with an additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs in the 13th Lok Sabha. He was also minister of state of science and technology with an additional charge of parliamentary affairs.

Gangwar was also the chairman of Public Accounts Committee of Parliament. He also held Textiles portfolio in the previous Modi government.

Joining the Ministry of Finance as Minister of State from July 2016 to September 2017, Gangwar during this period was also a member of GST Council and was instrumental in the successful rollout of GST in India.

In the outgoing government, he was Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge). He took charge of the ministry in September 2017.

In the 16th Lok Sabha, he remained minister of state for parliamentary affairs; water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, textiles and finance.