New Delhi, May 18, 2023, Special Correspondent
New Delhi, May 18: In a surprise move, Kiren Rijiju was moved out of the law ministry and replaced by Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday.
Perhaps, he had to pay the price for being the most vocal in the government in criticising the collegium system of appointing Supreme Court and high court judges and described it as being "alien" to the Constitution, said sources in the government.
51-year-old Rijiju, an MP front m Arunachal Pradesh, was named as law minister on July 7, 2021, following the resignation of senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
His recent remarks on some retired judges being part of an anti-India gang had evoked strong reactions. He had claimed that a few retired judges and some activists who are part of the "anti-India gang" were trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of opposition party.
A brief communique of Rashtrapati Bhavan said President Droupadi Murmu, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reallocated portfolios among ministers in the Union Council of Ministers. "The portfolio of (the) Ministry of Earth Sciences be assigned to Shri Kiren Rijiju," it said.
Meghwal is currently the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and the Minister of State for Culture. He has been assigned independent charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice in addition to his existing portfolios, according to the communique.
Hitting out at Rijiju, Opposition parties, including the Congress, took a swipe at him.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore described Rijiju, who was routinely vocal against the collegium system of judicial appointments, as a "failed law minister", while veteran lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said it was not easy to understand the science behind the laws.
Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi dwelt on the possible reasons behind Rijiju being moved to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, wondering if the recent Supreme Court judgment on Maharashtra was a cause. "Is it because of the Maharashtra judgement embarrassment? Or the Modani-SEBI investigation?" Chaturvedi asked in a tweet.
Rijiju, who will take over from Union Minister Jitendra Singh, the incharge of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said it was a privilege to serve as Union Minister of Law and Justice and thanked the entire judiciary, including Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, for their "huge support".