Bureaucrat-turned-politician Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday assumed charge as the Minister of Law and Justice after Kiren Rijiju was removed from the high-profile ministry in a surprise development, and made it clear that there was no confrontation with the judiciary.
Rijiju, whose brief stint in the Law Ministry saw frequent run-ins with the judiciary, has been given the earth sciences ministry.
Soon after assuming office, Meghwal declared that there was no confrontation with the judiciary and that his priority would be to ensure speedy justice for all.
"The executive and the judiciary have a cordial relationship, and it will stay cordial and constitutional. The boundaries are already there," he told reporters here.
The appointment of Meghwal, who is also the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Culture, comes ahead of the Rajasthan assembly election slated for later this year.
Meghwal dismissed suggestions that his appointment was done with an eye on the upcoming Rajasthan Assembly elections.
"This has nothing to do with the Rajasthan elections," the newly appointed minister said.
"My topmost priority will be to ensure speedy justice to all," said Meghwal, a law graduate.
S P Singh Baghel, the Minister of State for Law and Justice, was shifted to the Health Ministry in the same rank.
Rijiju met Meghwal and extended best wishes on the new responsibility.
A three-term Lok Sabha member from Bikaner, Meghwal is only the third person to hold the Law and Justice portfolio as a Minister of State with Independent Charge.
In 1996, Ramakant Khalap, a Lok Sabha member of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, helmed the Law Ministry in the rank of Minister of State (independent charge) under Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral.
Later, Arun Jaitley held the portfolio in the same rank for nearly two years from 2000-02 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He had a brief stint in the BJP as general secretary and national spokesman, before rejoining the government in the Cabinet rank in January 2003.
-With PTI Input
