Bhubaneswar, Jul 8 (IANS): Two new faces from Odisha - Rajya Sabha member Ashwini Vaishnaw and Mayurbhanj MP Bisweswar Tudu - got berths in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expanded and reshuffled Council of Ministers.
Both are first-time MPs.
While Vaishnaw took the oath as a Cabinet Minister and has been give the key portfolios of Railways, Communications, and Electronics and Information Technology, Tudu was inducted as a Minister of State, and given Tribal Affairs and Jal Shakti.
The Modi government has always given importance to Odisha, which has seen its representation increase to three. Apart from the two new ministers, there is Dharmendra Pradhan, who is a Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. Pradhan, who held charge of Petroleum Minister in the two terms of Modi government so far, is now the new Education Minister. He continues to hold the charge of Skill Development.
On the other hand, Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi, who was a Minister of State, resigned a few hours ahead of the Cabinet expansion.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Pradhan and many other leaders congratulated the two new ministers from Odisha.
"Congratulate Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw ji on being sworn in as Union Cabinet Minister. Your vast experience in administration, industry and shining academic credentials will help you serve the people in the best possible way. Wishing you all the very best," Patnaik tweeted. Congratulating Tudu, Patnaik said: "Your experience in public life will help you serve the nation."
Pradhan said it is a matter of great pride for Odisha and its people. "Gratitude to PM Shri @narendramodi for keeping with his govt's trend of a stronger representation from Odisha in the Union council of ministers as well as in key govt portfolios. Their appointment will further strengthen Odisha's share of voice on the national platform," he said in a tweet. BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra too wished them.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, born in Jodhpur in 1970, is former Odisha cadre IAS Officer of the 1994 batch. He joined the BJP in 2019 after being named as the party's nominee for Rajya Sabha. He was elected unopposed to the upper house with the support of ruling BJD.
He also worked in the PMO as the Deputy Secretary during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government. He was also the personal secretary to Vajpayee. Later, he left for the US to pursue an MBA.
He graduated from Jai Narayan Vyas University, Rajasthan in 1992 with a gold medal in Electronic and Communications engineering course and then completed his M Tech from IIT Kanpur, before cracking IAS.
Before joining politics, Tudu has been working as an engineer in the Water Resources Department in Odisha. He has been associated with the VHP and working for the welfare of the tribals for many years.