New Punjab cabinet to take oath on Saturday: Officials

The Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab will induct ministers into the cabinet on March 19, officials said on Friday.

The swearing-in ceremony of Mann’s cabinet will be held at Punjab Raj Bhawan on Saturday at 11 am, they said.

Names of Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora, Kultar Sandhwan, Saravjit Kaur Manuke, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Baljinder Kaur, all of whom were legislators in the previous assembly, besides the first-time MLAs Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, Jeevanjot Kaur and Dr. Charanjit Singh, are doing the rounds for ministerial positions.

There are 18 berths in the cabinet, including the chief minister.

After their oath-taking, the newly inducted ministers will assume charge in the Punjab Civil Secretariat and the first cabinet meeting of the AAP dispensation will be held in the afternoon, sources said. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit had on Wednesday administered the oath of office and secrecy to Bhagwant Mann in the swearing-in ceremony at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Punjab’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district.

The Aam Aadmi Party romped home with 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab assembly, decimating the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party combine.