Kiren Rijiju (born 19 November 1971) is an Indian politician serving as 28th Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and 7th Minister of Minority Affairs since 2024. He was the Cabinet Minister of Earth Sciences and Food Processing Industries in the Government of India since 2023 till June 2024 and a member of the parliament in Lok Sabha from Arunachal West since 2014 and from 2004 to 2009. Earlier, he served as the Minister of State for Home Affairs from 2014 to 2019, Minister of State for Minority Affairs from 2019 to 2021, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Sports and Youth Affairs from 2019 to 2021 and the Law minister from 2021 to 2023.

Early life

Rijiju was born on 19 November 1971 to a Buddhist family in the Nakhu village near the Nafra town in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. His father's name is Rinchin Kharu and his mother's name is Chirai Rijiju. His father was the first pro-tempore speaker of the first Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

Education

Rijiju did his graduation degree (B.A.) from Hansraj College, University of Delhi. Further, in 1998, he did his graduate degree in law (LL.B) from Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.

Political career

Kiren Rijiju is a three time MP in Lok Sabha from Arunachal Pradesh (2004, 2014, and 2024). He has served as minister of state (MoS) (independent charge) youth affairs and sports, MoS minority affairs, MoS home affairs, and Minister of Law and Justice. His tenure as Law Minister was marked by controversies. On 18 May 2023, he was assigned the portfolio of Ministry of Earth Sciences. On 10 June 2024, he was appointed as the Union Cabinet Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs in the Government of India. He is one of the three Buddhist MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha.

Controversies

In 2022, Kiren called the collegium system of appointment of judges in Indian judicial system as "opaque", implying that appointments are done on personal associations rather than merit. He also advocated for government's role in the appointment of judges, writing to the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. His comments on judiciary and collegium system were widely criticised by the legal community and the Supreme Court. In March 2023, Kiren accused some retired judges to be a part of "Anti-India gang". A group of former civil servants from the Constitutional Conduct Group responded by claiming Rijiju's comments a sign of "authoritarianism".

Personal life

He married Joram Rina Rijiju in 2004. She is a graduate from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi and is a gold medalist from Arunachal University. She is an Associate Professor teaching history at Dera Natung Government College, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.