New Delhi: The Punjab government, led by chief minister Bhagwant Mann, inducted five new MLAs as ministers on Monday, in the fourth reshuffle of the Cabinet. Governor Gulab Chand Kataria administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers during a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan. Chief minister Mann and other party leaders were present at Raj Bhavan during the ceremony.
Leaders met Arvind Kejriwal to finalise names
The newly sworn-in ministers are Hardeep Singh Mundian, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, Dr Ravjot Singh, and Mohinder Bhagat. Among the new appointments, three are from the Malwa region, while two hail from the Doaba region. According to reports, senior Punjab leaders and ministers met with AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi on Sunday to finalise the names.
Hardeep Singh Mundian has been given charge of Revenue, Rehabilitation & Disaster Management; Water Supply & Sanitation; Housing & Urban Development. Dr Ravjot Singh will look after Local Government; Parliamentary Affairs. Defence Services Welfare; Freedom Fighters; Horticulture will be under Mohinder Bhagat.
This marks the fourth reshuffle of the AAP government’s Cabinet during its 30-month tenure in Punjab. Hardeep Singh Mundian while talking to news agency ANI said, “I am thankful to god and my parents. I thank CM Bhagwant Mann who has given such huge responsibility to me.”
Fourth reshuffle of the AAP government’s Cabinet
Earlier, four ministers—Chetan Singh Jouramajra (public relations, defence services, and horticulture), Anmol Gagan Maan (tourism and investment promotion), Balkar Singh (local government and parliamentary affairs), and Bram Shanker Jimpa (revenue)—were removed from the Cabinet. With these changes, the strength of the Cabinet has increased to 16, including the chief minister. Under the current system, the Cabinet can have up to 18 ministers.
The reshuffle took place just days after AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy case and subsequently released from Tihar Jail.
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