Vijay Goel gets Sports and Youth Affairs ministry in Narendra Modi cabinet

New Delhi: Senior politician Vijay Goel on Tuesday was given Youth Affairs & Sports ministry (independent charge) in the Narendra Modi cabinet.

Goel, a three-time Lok Sabha MP, will take the independent charge of the ministry which was looking after by the Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh.

Jitendra was given additional charge of Youth Affairs & Sports ministry after the resignation of Sarbananda Sonowal, who took oath as the chief minister of Assam on May 24 after leading the BJP-led NDA to power in the north-eastern state.

Goel’s inclusion in the Union Council of Ministers marks a comeback of sorts for the leader after BJP virtually removed him from Delhi, where he once hoped to be the chief ministerial face, and sent him to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.

He previously held portfolios in the PMO in the first NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and remained a prominent party leader in the national capital before being sidelined in the last two Assembly polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted many new faces as he expanded his Council of Ministers today in a gala ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Former prominent politicians who had held the sports ministry are Mamata Banerjee (1991-1993), Uma Bharti (2000–2002), Sunil Dutt (2004-2005) and MS Gill (2009-2011).