Farmers Movement Archive

Piyush Goyal to be new leader of House in Rajya Sabha

Union minister for commerce and industry, Piyush Goyal will take over as the leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, said a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader aware of the developments. Goyal will succeed Thaawarchand Gehlot who has been appointed the Governor of Karnataka. There is no word yet on who will be Goyal’s deputy in the Upper House. The 57-year old Goyal, who was earlier the deputy leader in the House, was in contention for the post along with his Cabinet colleagues finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The leader of the House has the mandate to organise government meetings and business in the House and also has the role to engage and coordinate with the Opposition parties. The leader also has a key role to play in ensuring the smooth functioning of the House; putting forth the government’s view and giving assurances on behalf of the government on issues raised by the members. Also Read | Adhir may be replaced as Cong leader in LS? Here are the likely contendersIn his capacity as the deputy leader of the House, Goyal played a key role in reaching out to assuage the concerns of the Opposition during and after the passage of the contentious farm bills that led to the disruption of Parliament proceedings as some of them protested the passage of the bills and later demanded their roll back. He also played an instrumental role along with his now Cabinet colleague and RS MP Bhupender Yadav in helping the party, which does not have a majority in the Upper House, face no hurdles during the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill and the bill to ban triple talaq, said a party colleague. Goyal, who was recently also given charge of the textile ministry, has also been inducted in five of the eight Cabinet committees that were reconstituted after the expansion and the rejig of the Union council of ministers. Incidentally, he is not a member of the Cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs that has the mandate to draft the schedule of sessions, scrutinises non-government business and takes a decision on the bills and resolutions to be presented. “He is friendly and reaches out... Often meeting Opposition members for coffee in the Central Hall,” said an Opposition MP in the Upper House. Union minister for parliamentary affairs, Pralhad Joshi tweeted, “Congratulations to @PiyushGoyal ji on being appointed the Leader of House in Rajya Sabha. He has been entrusted by PM @NarendraModi ji with key responsibility. Wishing him continued vigour in the service to the nation.”

Hindustan Times

14-07-2021

India