Amit Shah takes charge as Home Minister for second term

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday took charge of India's Home Ministry for the second consecutive term under the Modi 3.0 Cabinet, asserting the new government will take its efforts for the country's "security to the next level and build Bharat as a bulwark against terrorism, insurgency, and naxalism."

Shah made the statement through his social media handle 'X' soon after taking charge as Minister of Home Affairs in the fresh list of 30 cabinet ministers under the Modi 3.0 government.

"Under the stewardship of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, I reassumed charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs today. The MHA will remain committed to the security of the nation and its people, as it always has been. Modi 3.0 will take its efforts for India's security to the next level and build Bharat as a bulwark against terrorism, insurgency, and naxalism," Shah posted on X.

The Home Minister took charge after paying floral tributes at the National Police Memorial in memory of India's police force personnel who laid down their lives guarding the honour of the nation. If Shah serves for another five consecutive years, he would become India's longest-serving home minister.

Congress' Govind Ballabh Pant and BJP's LK Advani served as Union Home Ministers for just over six years each, while Shah and Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister during the first Modi government, have each spent five years in the North Block.

Under Shah, the immediate challenge for the Centre and the MHA is to ensure the conduct of Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir and restore its statehood, which was converted into a Union Territory five years ago.

Another challenge is the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, which are set to replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act.

These laws, piloted by Shah in Parliament in 2023, are scheduled to come into effect on July 1.

Alongside 59-year-old Shah, Nityanand Rai, who served as Minister of State (MoS) for Home in the previous administration, has also resumed his role in the government. Rai also took charge as MoS Home a few minutes after Shah.

Telangana MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, the former president of the BJP's Telangana unit, will serve as the second MoS in the ministry, replacing Ajay Kumar, who lost the Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh's Kheri. Bandi will take charge in the coming days.