Ajay Bhatt Takes Over as Minister of State for Defence
Ajay Bhatt took over as Minister of State for Defence on 8 July. After assuming charge, he called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at his office in South Block. Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar along with other senior officials of Ministry of Defence received Bhatt and welcomed him into his office.
Bhatt tweeted thanking the Prime Minister for giving him the responsibility, saying that he will strive to build the ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’ of the 21st century.
Bhatt is a Member of Parliament from Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar constituency, Uttarakhand. He is the member of Standing Committee on Defence; Consultative Committee, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Committee on Subordinate Legislation; Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 and Committee on Estimates. He had, earlier, served as Cabinet Minister in Uttarakhand government, holding portfolios such as Parliamentary Affairs, Health and Disaster Management. He was also the Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.