Kerala gets another cabinet post in Modi 3.0; George Kurian gets call from Delhi

Former vice chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) George Kurian will be the second Malayali to be a Union Minister in Modi 3.0 after BJP MP from Thrissur Suresh Gopi.

New Delhi: Ahead of Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony on Sunday (June 9), Kerala has got a second minister in the form of George Kurian. Earlier today, BJP MP from Thrissur Suresh Gopi was called directly to Delhi to take oath as Union Minister. 

George Kurian, a social and educational activist, was the vice chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM). According to reports, Kurian will also take the oath of office today, thereby paving way for two Malayali ministers in the Modi 3.0 cabinet.

Kurian's relationship with the BJP's central leadership in Delhi significantly aided his political career. George Kurien was appointed to the cabinet as a representative of the Christian minority. Previously, he held the position of BJP state vice president and was a BJP candidate running against Oommen Chandy in Puthupally, Kottayam. A long-time member of the BJP since his days with the Yuva Morcha, George is well known to Malayalis through his participation in channel discussions.

Several leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met Narendra Modi at his residence ahead of his swearing-in ceremony later in the evening. He asked the leaders to prepare a plan of action for 100 days and act on it as soon as possible. Modi congratulated all the MPs and advised them against getting influenced by others during work. Kurian was also seen attending the meeting at Narendra Modi's residence. 

BJP and alliance partner leaders who were present in the NDA meeting include Amit Shah (BJP), Nitin Gadkari (BJP), Jyotiraditya Scindia (BJP), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (BJP), Piyush Goyal (BJP), Nirmala Sitharaman (BJP), Ashwini Vaishnaw (BJP), Mansukh Mandaviya (BJP), Giriraj Singh (BJP), Hardeep Singh Puri (BJP), Manohar Lal Khattar (BJP), Arjun Ram Meghwal (BJP), Kamaljeet Sehrawat (BJP), Raksha Khadse (BJP), George Kurian (BJP), Ravneet Singh Bittu (BJP), G Kishan Reddy (BJP), Bandi Sanjay Kumar (BJP), CR Patil (BJP), HD Kumaraswamy (JD-S), Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal), Lallan Singh (JD-U), Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM), Ramdas Athawale (Republican party of India), Prataprao Jadhav (Shinde led Shiv Sena) among others.