Rathore replaces Irani in I&B, Piyush Goyal to look after Jaitley's portfolios
New Delhi, May 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday effected a reshuffle in his Cabinet by replacing Smriti Irani as Information and Broadcasting Minister with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who was a Minister of State in the ministry.
In other changes, portfolios of Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley, who underwent kidney transplant on Monday, have been temporarily assigned to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
Goyal will hold the portfolios during the period of Jaitley's indisposition.
S.S. Ahluwalia has been relieved of the charge of Minister of State, Drinking Water and Sanitation, and assigned the portfolio of Minister of State, Electronics and Information Technology.
Alphons Kannanthanam, Minister of State, has been relieved of the charge of Minister of State of Electronics and Information Technology.
Rathore will be Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
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Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya case: Hope emerges as Iran may contact victim’s family in bid for pardon
New Delhi: There appears to be a glimmer of hope for Nimisha Priya, the nurse from Kerala on death row in Yemen, as report suggest Iranian officials may reach out to the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, her former business partner, to seek a pardon through blood money. Priya was sentenced to death for Mahdi's murder.
The 37-year-old nurse is currently imprisoned in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, which is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.
A report by The New Indian Express published on Friday stated that discussions are underway to gain the victim's family’s support in seeking a pardon. “It’s a relief of sorts. Iran officials could use their good offices with Houthis for the reach-out with family of the victim. Some cash has been arranged for blood money and talks are on to get the family on board to seek pardon, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” a source told the publication.
It is learnt that using an appropriate intermediary equivalent of Rs 30 lakh has been kept ready, the report added.
Hailing from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, the nurse was found guilty of murdering the Yemeni citizen in July 2017. She was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 while Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023.
Mahdi, reportedly died from an overdose of sedatives allegedly injected by Priya to retrieve her passport from him.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government is extending all possible help in the matter. “We are closely following the developments around the sentencing of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” he said last week.
