New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday expanded his council of ministers and inducted 21 new ministers, including four with cabinet rank.
Four new cabinet ministers and 17 ministers of state, three with independent charge, took oath at the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan here Sunday afternoon.
Those who were sworn-in as cabinet ministers were former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, Shiv Sena's Suresh Prabhu, senior BJP leader Jagat Prakash Nadda and former Congressman Birender Singh.
BJP MPs Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mahesh Sharma and Bandaru Dattatreya would be ministers of state with independent charge.
Those who took oath as ministers of state were Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Ram Kripal Yadav, Haribhai Parthibhai Choudhary, Sanwar Lal Jat, Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya, Giriraj Singh, Hansraj Ahir, Ram Shankar Katheria, TDP's Y.S. Chowdary, Jayant Sinha, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Babul Supriyo, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Vijay Sampla.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is second Muslim in Modi's cabinet. Najma Heptullah, Minister of Minority Affairs, is another Muslim in the union cabinet.
Besides Modi, those who attended the swearing-in ceremony included Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, BJP president Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi.
Earlier in the day, a strain in relationship between BJP and Shiv Sena were visible when Sena recalled its nominee Anil Y. Desai to return to Mumbai.
Desai's name was suggested for a berth in the union ministry and he rushed to New Delhi for the swearing-in ceremony Sunday afternoon.
Senior Sena MP Anandrao Adsul said in Mumbai minutes before the Rashtrapati Bhavan ceremony that the party has decided against going ahead with Desai's inclusion in Modi's cabinet.
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