Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra
Modi's council of ministers was on Saturday expanded with the
induction of four new ministers and first-time MLA Praful
Patel replaced Amit Shah as Minister of State for Home.
Patel, who was elected from Himmatnagar constituency of
North Gujarat in the 2007 Assembly election, has been given
the responsibility of Home, Police Housing, Border Security,
Civil Defence, Home Guards, Gram Rakshak Dal, Jail,
Prohibition and Excise. Modi is the cabinet minister of Home.
Other three new ministers included in the ministry are
Kanu Bhalala, Vasuben Trivedi and Pradipsinh Jadeja.
Bhalala has been made minister of state for Agriculture
and Water Resources (excluding Kalpsar), while Trivedi, the
second woman minister in the Modi ministry, has been given
Higher and Technical Education and Women and Child Development
portfolios.
Jadeja has been allocated Law and Judiciary, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs portfolios.
Governor Kamla administered oath of office to the four
Ministers of State at a function at the Raj Bhawan here,
taking the strength of the Ministry to 21.
The strength of Modi's ministry had come down to 17
following resignations of Amit Shah and Maya Kodnani who were
arrested in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter killing case and
Naroda Patiya riot case of 2002 respectively.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, August 22, 2010, 09:54