Who is Arjun Ram Meghwal, the newly appointed Law Minister who replaced Kiren Rijiju?

Following Kiren Rijiju's transfer to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, BJP leader Arjun Ram Meghwal was named as the next Union law minister on Thursday. Days after challenging the collegium method for choosing judges, Rijiju was removed from his position, according to a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Meghwal will now have charge of culture, parliamentary affairs as Minister of State, and independent charge of the law ministry.

Born on December 20, 1953, the politician from Bikaner in Rajasthan, holds a law degree from the Dungar College in Bikaner. He completed his law degree in 1977, following which he did his post-graduation. He passed the RAS exams in 1982 and was chosen to serve as the Rajasthan Udhyog Seva.

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In 2009, he was first elected to the House of Representatives as a member of the Bhartiya Janata Party from the Bikaner seat. The politician is a well-known Scheduled Caste community figure and a former IAS officer who was third-time re-elected as an MP from the Bikaner Parliamentary constituency.

After leaving the civil service, he entered politics and was elected as a BJP member of parliament from Bikaner in 2009. He was then re-elected to the seat in the 2014 elections. He served as the BJP's Lok Sabha top whip during his second stint as an MP.

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He held the position of Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs from 2016 to 2017. From 2017-19, he served as the Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Parliamentary Affairs. He served as the Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises from 2019 until 2023.