Amit Shah retains home ministry, Rajnath Singh defence
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi's top four ministers -- Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar -- have retained their respective home, defence, finance and external affairs portfolios, according to an official statement.
Among the new entrants to the Union Cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the agriculture and rural development portfolios, BJP president J P Nadda the health portfolio and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar the power portfolio.
Nitin Gadkari will continue as road transport minister, while Dharmendra Pradhan will retain his education portfolio.
Kiren Rijiju has been moved from the earth sciences ministry to the parliamentary affairs ministry, while Arjun Ram Meghwal will continue as law minister. Sarbananda Sonowal has retained the shipping portfolio, according to the statement.
Modi and 71 ministers took oath of office and secrecy on Sunday at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
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Bengaluru auto driver denies slapping woman passenger, expresses regret
Bengaluru: Autorickshaw driver Mutturaj R, aged 47, was arrested by the Magadi Road police for allegedly slapping a woman passenger after she canceled her ride. He was released on bail six days later and has expressed regret and shame for his behavior, although he denied the assault allegations.
Mutturaj, a resident of Chikkalasandra, operates a rented auto to support his family. The incident occurred on September 3 after he accepted a ride request through the Ola app. Upon reaching the pickup point in Rajajinagar, he found that the passenger had canceled the ride and was boarding another autorickshaw. Frustrated by the situation, Mutturaj confronted the woman. According to him, he only attempted to snatch her mobile phone, suspecting she was calling the police, but he insists he did not slap her.
The incident was captured on video by the woman and went viral on social media, leading to Mutturaj's arrest on September 5. He was sent to prison the following day.
In a statement, Mutturaj expressed deep regret, saying he felt ashamed after seeing the video at the police station. He admitted to using abusive language but denied any physical assault, stating, “Hang me to death if she or the police prove I assaulted her.”
The Peace Auto & Cab Drivers Association assisted Mutturaj in securing bail, with drivers contributing Rs 33,000 for legal expenses. The association also plans to approach Ola and other aggregators to request the unblocking of Mutturaj’s account and to speak with RTO officials to prevent the cancellation of his driving license.
