‘Bharat Will Be A Bulwark Against Terrorism, Naxalism, Insurgency’: Amit Shah Begins Second Innings As Home Minister

BJP veteran Amit Shah Tuesday took charge as the Union Home Minister for the second consecutive term in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third Cabinet and vowed to make efforts to take India’s “security to the next level and build Bharat as a bulwark against terrorism, insurgency, and naxalism.”

In a statement issued on X, Shah said, “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,” the Union Home Minister added.

Earlier, Amit Shah took charge of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs after he paid floral tributes at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi.

Amit Shah will become India’s longest-serving home minister if he serves for the full term of five years of Modi government 3.0.

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.

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.

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.

(With ANI inputs)