John Barla, who once worked as a tea garden worker, on Wednesday took the oath of office as Minister of State in the Modi government 2.0 as part of cabinet expansion. John Barla is among 43 other leaders who have been inducted in the NDA government in a major expansion.
John Barla is a Lok Sabha MP for Alipurduars in West Bengal and is serving his 1st term as a Member of Parliament (MP). Barla has worked tirelessly for the rights of tea garden workers, primarily in North Bengal and Assam for almost two decades.
Modi Cabinet Expansion 2021 | Full Coverage
Coming from a humble background, he had started of as a tea garden worker at the tender age of 14. The 45-year-old MP hails from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal.
PM Modi's mega cabinet reshuffle
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid a premium on performance in the 2021 Cabinet reshuffle. While 12 ministers were axed, seven junior ministers have been promoted as Cabinet ministers.
Minister of State in the Finance Ministry, Anurag Thakur, took oath as a Cabinet minister on Wednesday. MoS for Home, G Kishan Reddy, and MoS for Agriculture, Parshottam Rupala, also got a promotion.
Hardeep Singh Puri, who was the Minister of State (independent charge) for Civil Aviation and Housing and Urban Affairs, has also been elevated. So has Kiren Rijiju who held the independent charge for Youth Affairs and Sports.
Power Minister RK Singh, who held independent charge, and Mansukh Mandaviya, Shipping and Ports Minister with independent charge, have also been promoted. Gujarat will now get two additional Cabinet ministers in the form of Rupala and Mandaviya.
Many heavyweight ministers resign on expansion day
Before the massive reshuffle, several heavyweight ministers had resigned, while 43 new faces joined the government. Twelve ministers have resigned from the Modi government, including Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar.
President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted their resignations, a statement from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
ALSO READ | Modi Cabinet Expansion 2021: Full list of 43 ministers
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