New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS): Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, the only woman among the 21 members inducted into the Narendra Modi ministry Sunday, now takes to eight the number of women in the 66-member ministerial council.
Sworn in as minister of state, Jyoti, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, is regarded as one of the pro-Hindutva faces of the party. She is also known for helping the party increase its sway over Dalit votes.
The other women ministers are External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, and Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur.
The 16th Lok Sabha has the highest number of women members so far - 65 in the 542-member lower house.