Minister of State VK Singh takes charge of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Former Army Chief, General (Retd) VK Singh, today took charge as the Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

On his arrival at the office, he was presented with bouquets.

"I will ensure whatever infrastructure is required by the nation is completed as fast as possible," he said after assuming charge.

During the first stint of the Narendra Modi government, VK Singh was a Minister of State for External Affairs from 2014 to 2019.

He also briefly served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of the North-Eastern Region. He was later replaced by Jitendra Singh.

Mr Singh was appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation from 2014 to 2016.

Meanwhile, Nitin Gadkari retained his position as the Minister of Road Transport and Highways.

In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, VK Singh retained his Ghaziabad parliamentary seat, defeating Samajwadi Party's Suresh Bansal, his closest rival with a margin of over five lakh votes.

VK Singh served as the 24th Chief of the Army Staff from 2010 to 2012. During his tenure, he made headlines when he became the first serving Army officer to take the government to court over a dispute regarding his age and retirement.

The 68-year-old former Army Chief also backed the anti-corruption movement-led by activist Anna Hazare.