New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reshuffled her cabinet and inducted nine new ministers in her team on Wednesday. According to a report by news agency PTI, Babul Supriyo, Snehasis Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmick, Udayan Guha and Pradip Mazumder were sworn in as cabinet ministers. Tajmul Hossain and Satyajit Barman took oath as ministers of state, and apart from them, tribal leader Birbaha Hansda and Biplab Roy Chowdhury were also sworn in as Ministers with independent charges.
This comes close on the heels of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) facing the heat over the arrest of senior minister Partha Chatterjee by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the school jobs scam.
READ | Babul Supriyo & Partha Bhowmick Among 9 New Ministers To Be Inducted In Bengal Cabinet Today
Speaking about the cabinet rejig, CM Mamata Banerjee had earlier said, "We have to reshuffle our Cabinet. But (I) do not have any plan to dissolve the Cabinet and come up with a new one. There are several departments which have no one at the helm. I alone cannot shoulder (the) responsibilities of all these departments."
It is to be noted that CM Banerjee had for a brief period supervised the Panchayat and PHE departments as well as Consumer Affairs & Self Help Group & Self-Employment department following the death of their respective ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Sadhan Pandey. These portfolios were now held by others.
Earlier on Monday, TMC had also rejigged the organisation. "The All India Trinamool Congress, under the inspiration and guidance of Hon'ble Chairperson Smt Mamata Banerjee, is pleased to announce a few new appointments of District Chairman & District President for West Bengal Trinamool Congress," the party said in a statement.