Jual Oram takes charge as Tribal Affairs minister in Modi govt 3.0

New Delhi: Veteran BJP leader Jual Oram, who holds the distinction of being the country's first Tribal Affairs minister, assumed the responsibility again on Friday and said tribal education and health will be the top priorities of the Modi government.

The 63-year-old leader made his way to the Lok Sabha for the fifth time after defeating BJD candidate and former Indian Hockey captain Dilip Tirkey by 1,38,808 votes on his home turf Sundargarh in Odisha.

"This is the third time I am taking charge of the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry. I pray to Lord Jagannath, and I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this responsibility," Oram told reporters after taking charge.

He said tribal education and health will be the Modi government's top priorities.

"The biggest issue in the tribal areas of the country is education. I thank PM Modi for working on the issue. I told PM Modi this when I met him in the first Modi government. He asked what one thing is the most important for tribals. I said education.

"We have been able to create a robust education infrastructure and network of Eklavya Model Residential Schools in the country. This rivals the network of Kendriya Vidyalayas and I think we can do better than KVs," Oram said.

"The second priority issue in tribal areas is health. We will address this issue in the Modi government's third term. We will further improve the road, communication, and irrigation network in the tribal regions of the country," the minister said.