(HT)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi promoted petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan to cabinet rank on Sunday and gave him the additional charge of the skill development ministry. Odisha-born Pradhan now has the twin task of delivering the state for the Bharatiya Janata Party and give a new push to the Skill India mission, an issue close to the heart of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pradhan’s promotion as a cabinet minister is largely because of the successful implementation of the scheme to provide free LPG cylinders to BPL families — another pet scheme of PM Modi. Before the rollout of the scheme, more than 10 million families returned subsidy on LPG cylinders, passing on the benefits to deserving families from poorer sections.
“I am humbled at the trust & confidence reposed on me by Hon’ble Prime Minister, Party President & senior leadership of the Party,” Pradhan, a Rajya Sabha member from Bihar, tweeted. “This is the beauty & strength of our democracy that an ordinary person like me has been given such huge responsibility.”
If Pradhan impressed the PM with his energy in the petroleum ministry, he won praises from party chief Amit Shah for his active involvement in organisational matters. Pradhan was a key strategist for the BJP in Uttarakhand, a state the party won earlier this year. His promotion in the council of ministers is also seen as a symbol of his growing stature within the BJP in Odisha.
