Patnaik revamps cabinet for the first time, 12 ministers inducted
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik reshuffled his cabinet and inducted 10 new faces while elevating two ministers of state to cabinet rank Sunday .
Ten Odisha ministers had resigned on Saturday to pave the way for the chief minister to revamp his cabinet.
This is the first time that Patnaik has reshuffled his threeyear-old ministry. The ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy by governor SC Jamir in presence of Patnaik and other senior ministers at Raj Bhavan here. While 10 new ministers were inducted in the council of ministers, two ministers of state — Prafulla Mallick and Ramesh Chandra Majhi — were elevated to cabinet rank. Among the new faces, SN Patro, Niranjan Pujari, Pratap Jena, Maheswar Mohanty, Sashi Bhusan Behera and Prafulla Samal are cabinet ministers while Nrushingha Sahu, Anant Das, Chandra Sarathi Behera and Sushant Singh are ministers of state (MoS).
Sushant Singh, Nrushingha Sahu, Anant Das and Chandra Sarathi Behera and Sashi Bhusan Behera are first-timers. “Six new cabinet ministers and four MoS were sworn in today. Two MoS were elevated to the rank of cabinet ministers,” Patnaik said.
In the first reshuffle effected in his government since 2014, the chief minister has brought back experienced leaders like SN Patro, Prafulla Samal, Maheswar Mohanty and Pratap Jena Niranjan Pujari into the ministry.
Pradip Kumar Amat, who on Saturday resigned as the finance and health minister of the state, is tipped to be appointed as the Speaker of the Odisha Assembly.