Five new ministers have been inducted in the Bhagwant Mann government of Punjab. This is the fourth reshuffle in the Mann government within three years. The five ministers who took oath include Tarunpreet Singh, Barinder Goyal, Hardeep Mundia, Dr. Ravjot Singh and Mohinder Bhagat. In fact, four ministers resigned from the Mann cabinet on Sunday, after which these new ministers were inducted in the vacant positions.
Along with the oath, the departments have also been allocated to the new ministers, in which Tarunpreet Singh has been given Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Investment Promotion, Industry and Commerce and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Barinder Goyal has been given Mines and Geology, Water Resources, Water and Soil Conservation, Hardeep Mundia has been given Revenue, Disaster Management, Water Supply and Urban Development Ministry, Ravjot Singh has been given Local Government and Parliamentary Affairs, Mohinder Bhagat has been given Defense Services and Horticulture Ministry.
Governor Gulab Chand Kataria administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers during the swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was also present at the ceremony along with party leaders. Before the swearing-in ceremony in Punjab, CM Mann took a big decision and removed his trusted OSD Omkar Singh from the post. The reason behind his removal from the post is not clear yet.
Earlier, the ministers who were dropped included Chetan Singh Joramajra (Public Relations, Defense Services and Horticulture), Anmol Gagan Mann (Tourism and Investment Promotion), Balkar Singh (Local Government and Parliamentary Affairs) and Bram Shankar Jimpa (Revenue). With this swearing-in ceremony, the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Bhagwant Mann in Punjab has 16 members including the Chief Minister. Based on the number of members in the Punjab Assembly, there can be only 18 ministers.
The performance of Aam Aadmi Party, which formed the government by performing well in the last assembly elections in Punjab, was not as expected in the Lok Sabha elections. The changes made in Mann’s cabinet are being seen on the basis of the performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Out of the 5 ministers who took oath today, two belong to the Scheduled Caste, two to the Jat community and one to the Bania community. After this reshuffle in the cabinet, there is now only one woman minister left in Punjab.
