Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Two MPs of the state, Sarbananda Sonowal and Pabitra Margherita, were inducted into the ministry in Modi 3.0. Both Sonowal and Margherita took the oath of office on Sunday at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The duo was administered the oath of office and secrecy during their swearing-in by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu. Sonowal took the oath as Cabinet Minister, while Pabitra Margherita took the oath as Minister of State.
Sarbananda Sonowal won the Lok Sabha election 2024 from the Dibrugarh parliamentary constituency. Pabitra Margherita is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam.
Sonowal is the erstwhile Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, Waterways, and AYUSH from 2021 to 2024. Prior to his stint as Union Minister, Sonowal was the Chief Minister of Assam from 2016 to 2021.
Sonowal was born in October 1962. After joining politics, he was first elected as an AGP MLA from the Moran constituency in 2001. In 2004, he was elected as a member of parliament (Lok Sabha). He was again elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014. He was the minister of state (Independent), for Sports and Youth Welfare from 2014 to 2016, during the first term of the Modi government.
Sarbananda Sonowal won the Assembly Election from Majuli Constituency on May 19, 2016, and became Chief Minister of Assam, the first CM of the state from the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2021, he was re-elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly, again from Majuli. In the same year, Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed the office of Chief Minister of Assam, and Sonowal was elected to the Rajya Sabha. He became Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways and Minister of AYUSH in the second Modi ministry. Before joining politics, Sarbananda Sonowal was the President of Assam’s oldest student body, the All Assam Students Union (AASU), from 1992 to 1999.
As for the new inductee in the Modi Ministry, Pabitra Margherita, a young leader belonging to the Ahom community, was born in October 1974. He joined the BJP in 2014 and became the spokesperson for the state BJP and ‘Prabhari’ for social media. Working for the party from 2014 to 2022, he was elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Assam in 2022. However, he continued his involvement in state politics and was the political secretary to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. During the stint of Sonowal as CM, Margherita was the chairman of Jyoti Chitraban from 2017 to 2021.
Pabitra Margherita was originally associated with Assam’s music industry. He is also recognized as a journalist and was the editor of several magazines, including ‘Maya’ published from Jorhat.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “With utmost humility, I accept this opportunity to serve as a Union Minister in the NDA government led by our dynamic leader, Shri Narendra Modi ji, as the Prime Minister of India. It gives me immense pleasure and happiness to have this opportunity to serve the people of this beautiful and dynamic country. On this historic occasion, when Narendra Modi ji led NDA to form the third consecutive government at the centre, I want to especially thank the people of Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency for bestowing their love, faith, trust, and blessings on me to represent them at the highest temple of democracy.
Sarbananda Sonowal further added, “Due to the unprecedented development achieved in the country during the 10 years of good governance under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, the confidence and trust of the people in Modi ji’s leadership remain strong. Under Modi ji’s leadership, India has transformed into the world’s fifth-largest economy. The Modi-led NDA government is committed to making India one of the top three economic superpowers in the near future. Each one of us in the Union Council of Ministers is dedicated to working tirelessly for the nation. India will now move swiftly towards new heights of peace, prosperity, and progress.”
Meanwhile, Kiren Rijiju, the MP from Arunachal West in Arunachal Pradesh, was also inducted into the Modi 3.0 ministry in a cabinet rank. In the recent Lok Sabha election, he defeated Nabam Tuki of the Congress by a margin of 1,00,738 votes.
Also Read: Assam: CM Himanta greets PM Modi, Sarbananda Sonowal and Pabitra Margherita (sentinelassam.com)
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