Bhagwant Mann cabinet gets 10 cabinet ministers

Chandigarh, March 19: Ten cabinet ministers were inducted in the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Saturday. Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to them at a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan here. Those who took oath as cabinet ministers are Harpal Singh Cheema (MLA from Dirba), Baljeet Kaur (Malout), Harbhajan Singh ETO (Jandiala), Vijay Singla (Mansa), Lal Chand Kataruchak (Bhoa), Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer (Barnala), Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (Ajnala), Laljit Singh Bhullar (Patti), Brahm Shankar Jimpa (Hoshiarpur) and Harjot Singh Bains (Anandpur Sahib). Punjab Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari conducted the proceedings of Swearing -in- ceremony. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatraya, Punjab Chief Minister, Punjab Assembly Pro- tem Speaker Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar and several newly elected AAP MLAs, senior party leaders, workers and volunteers from Punjab and dignitaries from different walks of life were also present.

In a major landmark decision later, the Punjab Cabinet in its maiden meeting gave a green signal for providing 25,000 government jobs to the youth in various departments, boards and corporations of the state government. A decision to this effect was taken during a maiden Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann at CMO here this afternoon. Stating this here, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that this historic decision would open new vistas of employment for the youth by providing jobs to them in the government sector through a transparent and merit-based mechanism. Out of the total 25,000 government jobs, 10,000 would be offered for various posts in Punjab Police whereas the remaining 15,000 jobs would be given in other departments. The process of advertising and notification of these jobs would be initiated within a month, he added. Likewise, the Cabinet also cleared the presentation of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2021-22 to be presented in the ensuing Vidhan Sabha Session. This decision would provide a budget for additional or excess expenditure incurred by various departments during the financial year 2021-22 to liquidate the pending liabilities. Further, in accordance with the provisions contained in Clause (3) of Article 203 of the Constitution of India, the Cabinet also gave approval to present the Supplementary Demands for Grants of the Government of Punjab for the year 2021-22. Similarly, it also gave approval for presentation of the Statement of Estimated Expenditure (Vote on Account) from April 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022 of the State of Punjab for the year 2022-23 mandated to be presented in the State Assembly in the ensuing Punjab Vidhan Sabha as per the provisions under Rule 164 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. (UNI)