Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kiren Rijiju was on Thursday removed as the Union Minister of Law and Justice, a statement by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

Arjun Ram Meghwal has been assigned independent charge as the minister of state for law and justice in addition to his existing portfolios. Rijiju will take charge of the ministry of earth sciences.

The Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal West said it was “a privilege and an honour” for him to have served as the law minister. “I look forward to fulfilling the vision of [Prime Minister Narendra Modi] in the Earth Sciences Ministry with the same zeal and vigour I have imbibed as a humble karyakarta of the BJP.”

It is not clear why Rijiju has been removed from the law ministry. However, the move comes against the backdrop of his prolonged tussle with the judiciary.

Over the last few months, Rijiju and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar have repeatedly criticised the collegium system of appointing judges, contending that it is opaque. In the collegium system, the senior judges of the Supreme Court recommend names for the Supreme Court and High Courts and the government is expected to follow them.

Rijiju also said in December that the Centre had introduced the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act in 2014 with an objective to make appointments to the Supreme Court and High Courts “more broad-based, transparent, accountable and bringing objectivity in the system”.

The National Judicial Appointments Commission Act had proposed to make judicial appointments through a body comprising of the chief justice, two senior Supreme Court judges, the law minister and two other eminent persons nominated by the chief justice, the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition.

In March, Rijiju had claimed that some retired judges are part of an “anti-India gang” and are trying to make the judiciary play the role of an Opposition party.

Meanwhile, hours after shifting Rijiju, the Centre moved Minister of State (Law) SP Baghel to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Ministries led by a minister of state with independent charge do not typically include a deputy, reported PTI.

‘Failed law minister,’ says Opposition

On Thursday, Opposition leaders took to social media to criticise Rijiju’s stint at the ministry. Congress MP Manickam Tagore wrote in a tweet that Rijiju was a “failed law minister” and that he hoped Meghwal acts in a “dignified manner”.

Former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who has also been a law minister, wrote on Twitter: “Kiren Rijiju : Not Law, Now Minister for Earth Sciences. Not easy to understand the science behind the Laws. Now will try to grapple with the laws of science. Good luck my friend!”

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said that the change reflects the “sheer inefficiency” of the government. “The party that claims to be the largest party on the planet is even unable to find a full-time law minister,” he said.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi took an apparent dig at Rijiju without referring to him directly. “Is it because of the Maharashtra judgement embarrassment? Or the Modani- SEBI investigation?” she wrote on Twitter.

The Supreme Court had held last week that the Maharashtra governor had erred in deciding that the Uddhav Thackeray government had lost its majority after a group of Shiv Sena MLAs led by his rival Eknath Shinde revolted in June. In a separate matter, the Supreme Court is hearing petitions seeking an investigation into allegations of stock manipulation and other corporate irregularities by the Adani Group. Opposition parties have repeatedly accused the Narendra Modi government of giving undue favours to the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate.