More than three months after he underwent a surgery for kidney transplant, Union minister Arun Jaitley returned to Parliament on Thursday.
Jaitley is the leader of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha and therefore the leader of the House. He took designated seat on the front row of the upper House just ahead of he elections for the post of the deputy chairman of the House.
The party had issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in the Rajya Sabha to vote for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee and JD(U) leader Harivansh for the post which fell vacant earlier this year after Congress MP PJ Kurian completed his term.
JD(U) leader and NDA nominee Harivansh defeated UPA candidate BK Hariprasad by 20 votes to be elected the new Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman. As per the final tally, Harivansh won 125 votes while Hariprasad polled 105. While Harivansh is a first-time MP of the JD(U) and one of Nitish Kumar’s closest aides, Hariprasad is a three-time parliamentarian of the Congress. Addressing the Upper House after the election, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad says he hopes Harivansh would be impartial in his new role.
In absence of Mr Jaitley, Piyush Goyal has been given the additional charge of the Finance Ministry.
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