Goyal appointed Leader of House in Rajya Sabha
NEW DELHI: Union minister Piyush Goyal has been appointed as the leader of house in Rajya Sabha, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday. He will succeed Thawar Chand Gahlot who has been appointed the governor of Karnataka.
The Parliamentary Affairs Ministry has intimated the Rajya Sabha Secretariat that Goyal will be the Leader of House, the sources said. Goyal, who holds key portfolios in the central government, has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2010. The BJP was without a Leader of the House in Rajya
Sabha after Thawar Chand Gehlot was appointed as Karnataka Governor.
Goyal, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP, is currently the deputy leader of the NDA and is also Union Minister in the Cabinet. Goyal on 8 July took charge as the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles. In the past two years, Goyal has played an active part in BJP’S efforts in the Upper House of the Parliament to negotiate with Opposition parties not aligned with Congress and fence-sitters like BJD, AIADMK, YSRCP. Prior to becoming a minister in 2014, Goyal was the treasurer of the party. He was also engaged by the BJP in poll management activities and for managing logistics during the election.
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla assured that all arrangements to adhere to preventive norms will be followed during the monsoon session in view of the pandemic.