Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Monday administered the oath of office and secrecy to five new ministers inducted by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann into his Cabinet. The five who took oath include Aman Arora, Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar, Fauja Singh Sarari, Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Anmol Gagan Mann.
This is the first expansion of Mann’s Cabinet. With the induction of five new members, the Cabinet now has 15 ministers, including the chief minister. As per the rules, Punjab, which has 117 members in its Assembly, can have 18 ministers including the chief minister. Now three berths remain vacant.
Aman Arora (48), a two-time legislator from Sunam, won with the biggest margin of 75,277 votes in the recent Assembly elections. He is the son of former Congress MLA Bhagwan Dass Arora. In 2017, he won from Sunam with a margin of 30,000 votes.
Anmol Gagan Mann (32), a first-time MLA from Kharar, was a Punjabi singer when she got actively involved in the protest against the Centre’s controversial farm laws. She joined the AAP and has been an active youth volunteer of the party. She belongs to Mansa, a constituency represented by former health minister Dr Vijay Singla, who was sacked by Mann from his Cabinet on charges of corruption.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Monday administered the oath of office and secrecy to five new ministers inducted by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann into his Cabinet. (Express video by Jaipal Singh)https://t.co/KmurUxFwij pic.twitter.com/Ql4DgdX6h7
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) July 4, 2022
Fauja Singh Sarari, (61) is a former police officer from the Rai Sikh community who retired as station house officer. He represents Guruharsahai constituency. Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar, (61) a first-time MLA from Amritsar South, is the president of Chief Khalsa Diwan, the central organisation of Singh Sabhas. He is known for his philanthropy in the region.
Chetan Singh Jouramajra (55) is a legislator from Samana and is a businessman and agriculturist. While four of the new inductees are from Malwa region, one is from Majha. They are yet to be allotted portfolios.
With the latest move, Mann has managed to accommodate Aman Arora in the Cabinet, but several other senior AAP legislators, including Budh Ram, Sarvjit Kaur Manuke and Baljinder Kaur remain. Senior legislator Kultar Singh Sandhwan was named the speaker of Vidhan Sabha. His aide and senior legislator Jai Krishan Rouri was recently elected the deputy speaker. The party has ignored giant-killers, who defeated strong candidates in the Assembly polls, in the current expansion.
