BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Wednesday replaced Kiren Rijiju as India’s new sports minister. Notably, the announcement of the replacement comes with just over two weeks to go for the Tokyo Olympics. Rijiju, meanwhile, will take charge as the Minister of Law and Justice.
Besides handling the sports ministry, the 46-year-old from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh was also given charge of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Thakur, who has previously served as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) head, also took to Twitter and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he took oath as a cabinet minister.
"I am honoured to serve the people of India as a Union Cabinet minister and take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Prime Minister Sh @narendramodi ji for entrusting me with this responsibility," he tweeted.
Twitter was buzzing with cabinet expansion and a number of known faces from the sporting fraternity as well politics took to the micro-blogging site to congratulate Thakur and bid farewell to Rijiju. Here are a few reactions:
Big congratulations to @ianuragthakur sir for becoming the sports minister of India. He is energetic and has lots of experience in sport’s administration. Right man to lead Indian sports.
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) July 8, 2021
Heartiest congratulations to young and dynamic Sh @ianuragthakur ji for taking oath as Union minister in Modi government. My best wishes are with him as he takes on a new role. pic.twitter.com/LHCkKqScBN — Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) July 7, 2021
Great to see a former @BCCI President become the Sports Minister in the Union cabinet. Congratulations on the double whammy @ianuragthakur ji 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/RDL4WpmSNh
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) July 7, 2021
Congratulations @ianuragthakur ji on your appointment as Youth & Sports Minister & @KirenRijiju ji for being elevated to the Union Cabinet as the Law Minister. Your hard work & efforts as Sports Minister will truly reap benefits in future. Best wishes to both for the new roles! — P.T. USHA (@PTUshaOfficial) July 8, 2021
Many congratulations to @ianuragthakur ji for being the newly appointed Sports Minister of India 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/p7WKN34Jaa
— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) July 7, 2021
Congratulations @ianuragthakur is now the first Sports Minister of India to have played cricket at the first-class level. He played a lone Ranji Trophy match for Himachal Pradesh against Jammu & Kashmir in 2000.#Anuragthakur pic.twitter.com/MEV8XxCTGC — Baddam Mahipal Reddy (@baddammahipal_b) July 8, 2021
Young, dynamic, passionate for sports with lots of experience in sports administration. Prime Minster @narendramodi ji couldn’t have picked a better sports minister for India. Many many congrats @ianuragthakur
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) July 7, 2021
You did good work to bring in structural changes @KirenRijiju and the #Tokyo2020 should be proof. Should be our best. @ianuragthakur has been part of sport for decades and will surely make a diff. India is on the cusp of becoming a Multi sport nation. That’s what needs to happen. — Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) July 8, 2021
Congratulations @ianuragthakur ji💐 https://t.co/Z5fJx1ifTR
— Sandeep Singh (@flickersingh) July 8, 2021
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