Thawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment was recently appointed as Leader of Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The Leader of the Rajya Sabha is appointed by the party in power at Centre.
This position was occupied by senior BJP leader and former Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley in previous Narendra Modi-led government (2014-2019).
About Thawarchand Gehlot
- The 71-year-old Gehlot, is leader from Madhya Pradesh has almost four decades of legislative experience.
- Apart from being an experienced parliamentarian, he is a member & general secretary of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
- He belongs to Scheduled Caste and is a Dalit face of saffron party.
- He has been a member of state legislative assembly for several terms and has also served in Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha.
- He became a Rajya Sabha member in 2012 and was re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in 2018. This new term of his will end in 2024. A member to Upper House of Parliament has a term of 6 years.
Leader of Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament)
- A Leader of House is a Rajya Sabha member who either holds a rank of cabinet minister or another nominated minister. The Leader has a seat next to ex-officio Chairperson of Rajya Sabha (the Vice President of India), in the front row.
- The term Leader of the House has been defined in Rule 2(1) of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha.
- Gopalaswami Ayyangar was the 1st Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha.