Punjab CM Channi inducts 15 mins, 7 new faces in Cabinet

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi carried out his first cabinet expansion on Sunday, inducting 15 Cabinet Ministers which included seven new entrants, as the Congress gears up to face Assembly elections that are barely five months away.

The new faces in the Channi Ministry are Randeep

Singh Nabha, Raj Kumar Verka, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Pargat Singh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Gurkirat Singh Kotli. Rana Gurjit Singh has made a comeback after resigning in 2018 from the Amrinder Singh Ministry. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to the legislators.

Brahm Mohindra, Manpreet Singh Badal, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Aruna Chaudhary, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Razia Sultana, Vijay Inder Singla and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who were ministers in the previous Amarinder Singh led cabinet, were retained as Cabinet Ministers.

Channi was handpicked as Punjab’s first Dalit chief minister following the unceremonious exit of Congress veteran Amarinder Singh after a prolonged power tussle with state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Hours before the ceremony, Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet Singh Kangar held a joint news conference where they questioned the decision to drop them. Balbir Sidhu even broke down while asking What is my fault? while Kangar too posed the same question.

State Congress in-charge Harish Rawat said the exercise has been done to bring in young faces and strike a social and regional balance. Earlier, a section of Congress leaders from the state had written to the party’s Punjab unit chief Sidhu against the induction of former minister Rana Gurjit Singh, alleging he was corrupt and tainted”.

The leaders had also demanded that the Cabinet berth may instead be filled up “by giving representation to a clean Dalit leader”. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Chief Minister.

Rana Gurjit Singh has made a comeback after resigning in 2018 from the Amrinder Singh Ministry