New Entrant to the South Block, Rajnath Singh on Saturday took Charge of Defence Minister a days after the portfolio allocated to him. Singh has replaced Nirmala Sitharaman who has now been given the charge of Finance Ministry after Arun Jaitley opted out of Cabinet race.
Minister of State in Defence Ministry Shripad Yesso Naik, apart from the chiefs of all forces -Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh – were also present in the South Block Office.
Delhi: Rajnath Singh takes charge as the Defence Minister. MoS in the Ministry of Defence, Shripad Yesso Naik also present. pic.twitter.com/usBuBxNCDq
— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2019
Earlier in the day, he visited the National War Museum and paid tribute to the Soldiers who lost their lives in safeguarding the integrity of the nation.
“Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty, at the National War Memorial today. These fallen heroes represent the character of India who has a long history of courage, sacrifice and patriotism. I salute them for keeping India safe”, tweeted Rajnath Singh after the visit.
Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty, at the National War Memorial today.
These fallen heroes represent the character of India who has a long history of courage, sacrifice and patriotism.
I salute them for keeping India safe. pic.twitter.com/vONa0eCHWE
— Rajnath Singh (मोदी का परिवार) (@rajnathsingh) June 1, 2019
Rajnath Singh took oath as Minister on Thursday along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhawan. He held Home Portfolio in Narendra Modi’s previous government. However, Amit Shah has replaced him this time around.
Singh is among the Top 4 in the Narendra Modi’s Cabinet 2.0. Other three include Home Minister and BJP Chief, Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Minister S Jaishankar.
Rajnath Singh had defeated Poonam Sinha, wife of Shatrughan Sinha from Lucknow Lok Sabha Seat. Sinha contesting on Samajwadi Party ticket got defeated with a heavy margin of over 3.47 lakh votes.
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