Ten Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, including Harpal Singh Cheema and Baljit Kaur, were sworn in as cabinet ministers in Punjab on Saturday.
After the Aam Aadmi Party swept the polls in Punjab earlier this month, ten party MLAs were sworn in as cabinet ministers in the state on Saturday. This comes days after Bhagwant Mann took the oath as the new Chief Minister of Punjab.
CM Bhagwant Mann will chair his first cabinet meeting with the newly inducted ministers later today.
The ten ministers who took the oath on Saturday are:
Harpal Singh Cheema: Harpal Singh Cheema has been re-elected as the MLA from Dirba. He has served as the Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly in the past. He has been associated with the AAP since its inception and is considered an important Dalit leader in the party.
Dr Baljit Kaur: Dr Baljit Kaur is the daughter of former AAP MP Sadhu Singh. She is the MLA from Malout constituency. She is an ophthalmologist.
Harbhajan Singh ETO: MLA from Jandiala, he joined the AAP in 2017. The former excise and taxation officer took voluntary retirement to join politics.
Dr Vijay Singla: A dentist by profession, Vijay Singla defeated famous Punjabi singer and Congress candidate Sidhu Moosewala to become the MLA from Mansa.
Lal Chand Kataruchak: He is a social worker who defeated veteran Congress leader Joginder Pal in Bhoa.
Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer: 32-year-old MLA from Barnala, he joined Anna Hazare’s movement and later joined the AAP.
Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal: MLA from Ajnala, he has a murder case lodged against him. He joined AAP seven years ago. In 2017, he did not get a party ticket. In the 2019 election, he contested against Gurdeep Aujla but lost.
Laljit Singh Bhullar: He has worked as an agent in the grain market in Patti. He defeated Pratap Singh Kairon, son-in-law of Parkash Singh Badal, in the election.
Bram Shanker (Jimpa): A councillor for 25 years, he has been active in politics since his student days. He defeated minister Sunder Shyam Arora in Hoshiarpur.
Harjot Singh Bains: He defeated Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana KP Singh from Sri Anandpur Sahib. He is the head of the youth wing of the party and is also a qualified lawyer.
The swearing-in ceremony was held at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.
The Punjab cabinet can have a total of 18 ministers, including the chief minister. Hence, the state government may choose to expand its cabinet and include some more members in the near future.
MANN’S MESSAGE
Announcing his list of ministers via Twitter on Friday, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann congratulated them and said the cabinet must work hard day in and day out to give Punjab an honest government.
पंजाब का नया मंत्रिमंडल कल शपथ ग्रहण करेगा। पंजाब की AAP सरकार में होने वाले सभी मंत्रियों को बहुत-बहुत शुभकामनाएँ।
पंजाब की जनता ने हम सबको बहुत बड़ी ज़िम्मेदारी दी है, हमें दिन-रात मेहनत कर लोगों की सेवा करनी है, पंजाब को एक ईमानदार सरकार देनी है। हमें रंगला पंजाब बनाना है। pic.twitter.com/Z5wDmD9Zpg
— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) March 18, 2022
On Wednesday, after taking his oath as the chief minister, Bhagwant Mann had said, “I appeal to you all [newly-elected MLAs] to not get arrogant. We have to respect even those who didn’t vote for us.”
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