NEW DELHI: Mansukh Mandaviya took over as the head of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs on Tuesday and promised to work hard to improve the sports landscape in the country.
Mandaviya, 52, who won from Gujarat’s Porbandar Lok Sabha seat, was the Union Health Minister during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. He had also served as the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers in the previous government.
“…to empower the youth of the country & make the nation strong in the field of sports, I have today taken over as the head of @YASMinistry at Shastri Bhavan,” Mandaviya posted on X after taking over the charge.
“We will all work together to strengthen these areas,” he added.
Mandaviya took over as sports ministry from BJP leader Anurag Thakur.
Additionally, he also served as head of the Ministry of Labor and Employment.
Raksha Khadse, Minister of State for Sports in the Mandaviya government and three-term BJP MP from Maharashtra Labour, was also present.
Raksha, 37, is the daughter-in-law of NCP leader Eknath Khadse of Sharad Pawar’s faction, who has decided to return to the BJP.
Mandaviya was appointed as the Minister in charge of the Health Ministry in mid-2021 when the country was battling the COVID-19 crisis. At the time, he replaced Dr Harsh Vardhan, who was removed from the Council of Ministers as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
Mandavida was then tasked with boosting supplies of oxygen and medicines and overseeing the vaccination programme amid a worsening second wave of COVID-19 infections.
In the newly sworn-in government, the Ministry of Health has been given to JP Nadda.
Published June 11, 2024 10:56 IST
