Modi Govt 3.0: PM seeks blessings of Pratibha Patil, Dr Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda as he begins third term

Modi Govt 3.0: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his third term on Monday, he sought the blessings of former president Pratibha Patil and former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda, news agency PTI reported.

The PTI report, citing official sources, added that Modi spoke to them soon after he assumed charge on Monday morning.

He took oath on Sunday along with 71 other ministers, including 30 cabinet-rank ministers, at the swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

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Patil was president and Dr Singh prime minister during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. At the same time, Devegowda was prime minister during the United Front government supported by the Congress. 

Devegowda's party, Janata Dal (Secular), is also an ally in the present National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, and his son HD Kumaraswamy is a minister in the Modi 3.0 cabinet. 

Modi 3.0 government

An official statement said President Droupadi Murmu directed the allocation of portfolios to 72 Union Council of Ministers, including the prime minister, as advised by Modi. 

ALSO READ: Modi 3.0: BJP President JP Nadda gets Union Health Ministry portfolio

Modi has retained Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar in charge of the four high-profile ministries - home, defence, finance and external affairs, respectively, in his new government.

Among new entrants to the Union Cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the agriculture and rural development ministries, while BJP president JP Nadda has returned to the health ministry, which he held in the Modi government's first term before he took charge of the BJP as working president in 2019.

Ashwini Vaishnaw has retained crucial railways, electronics, and information technology ministries and was also given the important information and broadcasting ministry. 

Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal also retained the education, commerce and industry ministries, respectively.

Hardeep Singh Puri will continue as the petroleum and natural gas minister but was relieved from the position of housing and urban affairs minister.