Smriti Irani, Narendra Tomar get additional charge after Venkaiah Naidu resigns. (file)
Smriti Irani, Minister for Textiles, will hold additional charge of the important Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the government has announced today.
Senior BJP leader
M Venkaiah Naidu resigned as Information and Broadcasting Minister last evening after he was named as the government's nominee for Vice President of India.
Mr Naidu also resigned as Urban Development Minister and that ministry will now be led by Narendra Singh Tomar as an additional charge. Mr Tomar is the Minister for Mines.
The Prime Minister's Office, in a tweet, informed about the decision of the government. Ms Irani's term in Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament, ends on August 18. Elections for Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, the state represented by Ms Irani, Bengal and Goa will be held on August 8.
PM Modi also needs to reassign the defence ministry, held by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley since Manohar Parrikar shifted to Goa as Chief Minister earlier this year, and the environment ministry.