Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been appointed as the deputy Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. Naqvi takes over from Piyush Goyal who has been elevated as the leader of the house in the Upper House.
Naqvi, 63, was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2016 and is known for his vast knowledge of parliamentary affairs. He had been a student leader and was jailed in 1975 during the Emergency.
In 2014, Naqvi was made the minister of state for parliamentary affairs and minority affairs during the first term of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated the leader on Twitter and said, "Congratulation @naqvimukhtar on being appointed Deputy Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha. Affable by nature, your experience in parliamentary affairs in well known".
The 64-year-old Minister is the only second member from A B Vajpayee Ministry after Rajnath Singh, who has managed to be in Narendra Modi's team after the recent reshuffle.
He had also served as the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs during the first term of the Modi government. Naqvi, the Muslim face of the BJP, is also known to have cordial relations with leaders of parties across the political spectrum and this will come in handy for the government which will face an Opposition onslaught during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.
