Three persons of Indian-origin are already holding key posts in the cabinet of Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Conservative leader’s cabinet includes Priti Patel, UK’s first Indian-origin Home Secretary, Alok Sharma, who is the secretary of state, and Rishi Sunak, who is the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Sunak, who is the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and writer Sudha Murthy, was elected as a Member of Parliament in 2015 from Richmond.
A businessman by profession, he completed his education from Oxford and Stanford universities. He hails from a humble background; his father was a general practitioner in the National Health Service while his mother ran a shop.
The Hampshire-born 39-year-old used to be a junior minister in the department of local government before he was promoted to the rank of a chief secretary to the Treasury under new chancellor Sajid Javid.
Notably, while Boris Johnson’s government remains strongly conservative, the appointments of Patel, Sharma, and Sunak hint towards a marginal shift from former Prime Minister Theresa May’s team.
Boris Johnson's Indian connection
Boris Johnson has for long exerted to build ties with India that run far deeper than just trade. Married to Marina Wheeler, whose mother Dip Kaur is an Indian and was formerly married to Khushwant Singh's younger brother Daljit Singh.
Dip's older sister Amarjit was married to Bhagwant Singh, another brother of Khushwant Singh. Now, Bhagwant Singh's niece is Amrita Singh, the mother of new Bollywood star Sara Ali Khan.
Johnson has even described himself as a “son-in-law of India” in the past.He also has a Bollywood connection now.
He is reportedly looking forward to striking a new trade deal with India wishes to further strengthen his self-professed “personal ties” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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