Union Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal on Tuesday was appointed as the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. The minister who in the last week's major cabinet reshuffle retained his charge as Ministry of Commerce, Consumer Affairs too replaced Thawar Chand Gehlot as the Rajya Sabha house leader who took oath recently as the 19th Governor of Karnataka.
Goyal's appointment comes ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, which will begin on 19 July and will conclude on 13 August.
Piyush Goyal has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2010. Goyal, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP, is currently the deputy leader of the NDA and is also Union Minister in the Cabinet.
In the last two years, Goyal has played an active part in BJP's efforts in the Upper House of the Parliament to negotiate with Opposition parties not aligned with Congress and fence-sitters like BJD, AIADMK, YSRCP.
Goyal on July 8 took charge as the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles. The minister said his priority would be to strengthen the sector so that it becomes an even bigger support for the economy.
As many as 43 leaders took oath on Wednesday in the first Union Cabinet reshuffle and expansion after Prime Minister Modi returned to power for a second term in May 2019.
The swearing-in ceremony, which took place at Rashtrapati Bhavan amid COVID-19 protocols, came days ahead of the monsoon session of parliament.
