Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann inducted five new ministers into his cabinet on Monday.
Hardeep Singh Mundian, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, Ravjot Singh and Mohinder Bhagat were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Gulab Chand Kataria.
It was a quiet and solemn ceremony at the Punjab Raj Bhawan, lasting 20 minutes, with most ministers, some MLAs, senior bureaucrats and families and friends of new inductees in attendance.
CM Mann was present on the stage when the new ministers were called in for taking oath. After taking oath, the newly appointed ministers thanked the CM, hugged him and shook hands.
These ministers have been chosen after the AAP top brass did a thorough background check on the inductees. Since the results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared in June, there was a talk of a reshuffle in the cabinet.
With this, the total number of ministers in the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab cabinet has reached 16. This still leaves two vacant berths in the Cabinet, leaving room for more inductions later.
The decision to induct the new members was taken after the party decided to remove four ministers (Balkaur Singh, Brahm Shankar Jimpa, Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Anmol Gagan Maan) from the cabinet. The four had submitted their resignations earlier.
