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Ashok Pradhan, dalit MP from Khurja in Uttar Pradesh, was on Sunday sworn in as a Union minister of state.
President K R Narayanan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Pradhan at a brief ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
With the induction of Pradhan, the strength of the council of ministers has gone up to 71, including 32 Cabinet ministers, six ministers of state with independent charge and 32 ministers of state.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his ministerial colleagues, including Lal Kishenchand Advani and Jaswant Singh, were present on the occasion.
Forty-seven-year-old Pradhan, who prefers to keep a low profile, was elected to Lok Sabha for the third time in the 1999 polls.
Born on December 13, 1953, Pradhan, an industrialist and social worker, made his debut in 1996 defeating Bir Sen of the Bahujan Samaj Party by a margin of 160,000 votes.
He retained his seat in the 1998 elections and trounced the Congress nominee in the last elections to enter the House for the third time.
During his previous terms, Pradhan was associated with a few parliamentary committees.
PTI
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