Javadekar coaxes sulking Irani to take up new job

Javadekar called on  a sulking Irani at around 12 pm on Wednesday at her residence and the new HRD minister, who is scheduled to take charge on Thursday, persuaded her that any impression of her being anguished over her new assignment would reflect poorly on Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi’s leadership.

Soon after the meeting, Irani, through her tweets, vowed to begin her new assignment by thanking former Textiles Minister Santosh Gangwar and congratulated him for his contribution to the ministry.

“Look forward to working with officials at Textiles Ministry for strengthening the very important textile and apparel sector of our country. I thank PM Modi for giving me the opportunity to serve the nation earlier in the HRD Ministry and now in the Textiles Ministry,” Irani said in a series of tweets on micro-blogging site Twitter.

After taking the charge of her new ministry, Irani said that her new portfolio signified the “faith” shown by the Prime Minister and the party in her capacity to perform.

Talking to reporters after taking charge of the new portfolio, she side-stepped questions on BJP president Amit Shah being behind her shift saying it is not individuals but the party that takes such decisions. Asked if the move was to give her more time to focus on next year’s assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, she quoted a line from a popular Hindi song, Kuchh toh log kahenge logon ka kaam hai kehna (people are bound to say things because it is their job to say something).

“I am happy that I have been given an opportunity especially when a special package (of Rs 6,000 crore for the apparel segment) has been announced for the sector. This signifies that my party and especially the Prime Minister have faith that I have the capacity to implement the roadmap that was projected through the Cabinet for the rest of the country,” Irani said, adding that she was hopeful that the much-awaited new national textile policy “will soon see the light of day”.

Earlier in the day, she tweeted on her tenure in HRD, which was marred by controversies, “In last 2 years, all initiatives of HRD Ministry have been towards increasing learning outcomes for students and improving quality of education.”

Expressing her gratitude to HRD officials, Irani tweeted, “I thank officials from HRD Ministry for the consistent support in realising PM Modi’s vision of ensuring quality education for all.”