Days after a horrific rail tragedy claimed over 70 lives, the country finally has got a full time Railway Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi. A trained pilot and a person who likes to watch movies and listen to music, Mr Trivedi will now guide the fortunes of the world’s largest employer, the Indian Railways.
Mr Trivedi, who is considered very close to the Trinamool Chief, Ms Mamta Banerjee, first entered Parliament through the Rajya Sabha in 1990. Subsequently, he was elected to Lok Sabha in 2009 and was holding charge as Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare before being shifted to the Railways.
Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, the new Environment and Forest Minister, has become a Minister at the Centre after a gap almost 13 years. The Madras Law college product who likes to play the Veena, Ms Natarajan held the post of Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Civil Aviation in 1998.
An advocate by profession, Ms Natarajan first entered the Rajya Sabha in 1986 and continues to be a member of the Upper House. The newly appointed Minister has been the spokesperson for the Congress party will now have to face up to the task of meeting the expectations of corporates and others seeking environment clearances for their projects.
The five-time veteran Member of Parliament, Mr V. Kishore Chandra Deo, has been appointed as the new Cabinet Minister looking after Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj. A former member of the royal family of Kurupam in Andhra Pradesh, Mr Deo was instrumental in framing the Forest Rights Act that sought to protect the rights of tribal people. Astrology and cooking are the favourite past time of the newly appointed Cabinet Minister who was earlier the Minister of State for Steel and Mines way back in 1979.