BJP’s Dalit face and Union minister for social justice and empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot was on Tuesday appointed as the leader of the Rajya Sabha.
According to party sources, the new appointment was made by the party leadership replacing senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who had last month requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep him out of cabinet and other formal responsibilities on his health ground.
The 71-year-old leader from Madhya Pradesh has almost four decades of legislative experience.
He was a member of the state assembly for several terms and has served in the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha.
Several BJP leaders have congratulated Gehlot on his appointment.
Among others, those who complimented him are former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Rakesh Singh.
Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan also congratulated his ministerial colleague. In his missive, Chouhan hoped that vast experience of Gehlot will help the party in the Upper House. (UNI)
