Punjab Cabinet Expansion: 7 New Faces Among 15 Ministers Sworn In, 'Tainted' Rana Gurjit Singh Makes Comeback
The names are said to have been finalised during Channi’s meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other senior party members in the national capital.
New Delhi: Several new Congress MLAs have been sworn in to be inducted into the new Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's cabinet on Sunday.
The swearing-in ceremony took place after meeting Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhavan around 12:30 pm.
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The oath-taking ceremony for the new ministers began as scheduled at 4:30 pm on Sunday. The CM met the governor hours after his return from Delhi having held a final round of discussion with the party high command on the cabinet formation.
The list of Congress MLAs who have taken oath as Cabinet ministers of Punjab Government, at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh includes:
- Brahm Mohindra
- Manpreet Singh Badal
- Tript Singh Bajwa
- Aruna Chaudhary
- Sukhbinder Sarkaria
- Rana Gurjeet Singh
- Razia Sultana
- Vijay Inder Singla
- Bharat Bhushan Ashu
- Randeep Singh Nabha
- Raj Kumar Verka
- Sangat Gilzian
- Pargat Singh
- Amrinder Singh Raja Warring
- Gurkirat Kotli
7 New Faces In Cabinet, 5 Amarinder Loyalists Dropped
The new faces in the Channi-led Ministry are Randeep Singh Nabha, Raj Kumar Verka, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Pargat Singh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, and Gurkirat Singh Kotli.
Rana Gurjit Singh has made a comeback after resigning from the Amrinder Singh-led cabinet in 2018. He had to resign from the previous cabinet after facing flak from the Opposition over allegations of impropriety in the auction of sand mining contracts. At that time, he had held Irrigation and Power portfolios.
Earlier, a section of Punjab Congress leaders had written to the party's state unit chief Sidhu against Rana Gurjit Singh'S induction, alleging that he was "corrupt and tainted". The leaders had also demanded that the cabinet berth may instead be filled up "by giving representation to a clean Dalit leader", news agency PTI reported.
Meanwhile, Brahm Mohindra, Manpreet Singh Badal, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Aruna Chaudhary, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Razia Sultana, Vijay Inder Singla, and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who were ministers in the previous cabinet, have been retained as Cabinet Ministers.
Rana Gurjit Singh, Mohindra, and Singla are considered to be close to Amarinder Singh.
Meanwhile, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh Kangar and Sunder Sham Arora, who were ministers in Amarinder Singh's cabinet, did not find a place in the new ministry.
Besides this, nine ministers in the cabinet represent Malwa, three Doaba and six Majha regions. Two deputy chief ministers were from the Majha region.
Now all eyes will be on the allocation of portfolios.
After congratulating the new ministers, Punjab Congress in-charge Harish Rawat said, "We have decided that those who could not be accommodated in the Cabinet, they will be adjusted in the party and government set-up because there is a lot of work, they will be given responsibilities. Nobody is left out", PTI reported.
Two Deputy Chief Ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni were sworn in on Monday.
The names are said to have been finalised during Channi’s meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other senior party members in the national capital.
On Thursday, there was a meeting from 10 pm to 2 pm at Rahul Gandhi's house regarding the Cabinet. Apart from Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Punjab Congress in-charge Harish Rawat, KC Venugopal, and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi were present in this high-level meeting.
(With Agency Inputs)
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