Chandigarh, Sep 23 (IANS) The Cabinet led by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday inducted five new faces after dropping four ministers — the fourth reshuffle in the two-and-a-half-year-old AAP government.
The newly inducted ministers were administered the oath of office by Governor Gulab Chand Kataria at a simple ceremony in Raj Bhawan here.
Four ministers — Chetan Singh Jouramajra, who held the Mining and Horticulture portfolios, Bram Shankar Jimpa (Revenue), Balkar Singh (Local Bodies) and Anmol Gagan Mann (Tourism) — submitted their resignation letters on Sunday.
The inducted were Barinder Goyal, a legislator from Lehra, Hardeep Singh Mundian from Sahnewal, Ravjot Singh from Sham Chaurasi, Tarunpreet Singh Sond from Khanna and Mohinder Bhagat, who got elected from Jalandhar (West) in a bypoll in July.
This fourth reshuffle comes days after AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was replaced by Atishi.
Bhagat, who switched to AAP from BJP last year, won Jalandhar (West), a Scheduled Caste reserved constituency, by a margin of 37,325 votes. He is the son of former cabinet minister and veteran BJP leader Chunni Lal Bhagat.
Mundian, a legislator from Sahnewal, and Tarunpreet Singh, a legislator from Khanna, both Sikh businessmen, have been elevated to ministerial positions.
Goyal, the legislator from Lehragaga who represents the Baniya community, was sworn in as a Cabinet minister, while Ravjot Singh, a legislator from Sham Chaurasi, has been inducted to consolidate the Dalit vote bank in the Doaba region, where the community holds influence.
Just hours before the oath-taking ceremony, Chief Minister Mann removed his Officer on Special Duty Onkar Singh.
Onkar Singh, who hails from Sangrur, was appointed as the OSD to Chairman of Punjab Rural Development Board, a charge held by Mann.
Singh’s term as OSD was coterminous with the Chief Minister’s term. He was considered a close aide of Mann.
–IANS
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