 On 12 July 2011 he was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in the Union Cabinet, holding the portfolios of Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj.He was also a Minister of State for Steel, Mines and Coal in the Central Cabinet in 1979-80.He has served on numerous parliamentary committees, and has been the chairperson of several key parliamentary committees, including the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill that led to the Forest Rights Act.