Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi’s 15 ministers take oath amid shortlist drama

CHANDIGARH: Last-minute replacement of one name, the futile campaign against another, and displeasure of two outgoing ministers marked the swearing-in of 15 Punjab ministers – including seven new entrants – in chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s council of ministers on Sunday.
Barely hours before the oath-taking ceremony, Congress leadership decided to induct four-time Amloh MLA Randeep Singh Nabha in place of its earlier plan to bring in PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s loyalist Kuljit Singh Nagra, even as the party went ahead with Rana Gurjit Singh’s induction despite opposition from a group of MLAs from Doaba region.
The new entrants to the cabinet included Nabha, Raj Kumar Verka, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Pargat Singh, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Gurkirat Singh Kotli, besides Rana Gurjit.
The new cabinet comes ahead of the 2022 assembly polls and has a stamp of Rahul Gandhi, who was in regular touch with Channi, is believed to have again tweaked the final list late on Saturday night. AICC in charge of Punjab Harish Rawat said where young blood has been induced in the new Cabinet, the party has also struck social and regional balances. At 43, Warring is the youngest member.
After decision to resign for sake of farmers, I could not have become minister: Nagra
Sources said Rahul intervened on Saturday night to make Nagra give way to Nabha. Nagra is believed to be close to the high command and did not protest the move. Both Nagra and Nabha represent assembly seats falling in the Fatehgarh Sahib district and are Jat Sikhs, but Nabha is believed to have cited his seniority to win the race. Similarly, Warring managed to corner a berth due to support from both Rahul and Sidhu, despite opposition from former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal.
Among the new faces inducted, only Rana Gurjit Singh has been a minister before. The rest six are first-time ministers. Nagra, who is among the four PPCC working presidents, tweeted, “I have decided not to be part of the cabinet, as I had earlier submitted my resignation on farmer's issue. I stand with farmers' agitation.” He added after the ceremony, “It was my personal decision to resign (from assembly) for the sake of farmers and then I could not have become a minister.”
At the same time, opposition to the induction of Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh by six Congress MLAs from the Doaba region did not bear fruit. They shot off a letter to Sidhu along with a copy to Channi to oppose the plan to induct ‘tainted’ Rana Gurjit, but the party still went ahead with the choice.
The Congress decided to repeat former ministers Brahm Mohindra and Vijay Inder Singla, who are known to be loyalists of former CM Amarinder Singh. Other former ministers who managed to retain their cabinet berths include Manpreet Singh Badal, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Aruna Chaudhary, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Razia Sultana and Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Rana Gurjit too has been close to Amarinder and was included in the latter’s Cabinet in 2017 but had stepped down after an alleged scam in the allotment of sand mines to his ex-employees.
Among the former ministers who were dropped are Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Sunder Sham Arora, Rana Gurmeet Sodhi, Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet Kangar.
The Congress potboiler continued on Sunday morning with party MLAs Navtej Cheema and Khaira meeting Navjot Sidhu at the latter’s Patiala residence to oppose Rana Gurjit. Apprehensive of such reactions from within the party, the Congress leadership had decided not to release an official list of names ahead of the formal swearing-in ceremony.
The letter to oppose Rana Gurjit said, “We the undersigned MLAs and leaders of Doaba wish to convey huge resentment amongst the public and the Congress cadre on the proposed inclusion of tainted Rana Gurjeet Singh. Needless to mention, he was dropped from the cabinet in January 2018 due to the infamous mining scandal involving him, his family and his companies directly in the said scandal.”
It added, “It is amusing that all the three ministers proposed to be included in the cabinet from Doaba region are Jat Sikhs and one OBC Sikh, whereas there is 38 percent Dalit population in this region.” It was signed by MLAs Navtej Singh Cheema, Raj Kumar Chhabewal, Sukhpal Khaira, Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, Bawa Henry, Pawan Aditya and former PPCC chief Mohinder Singh Kaypee.
Portfolios: Uphill task for congress
After facing pressure from within, Congress faces the uphill task of deciding on the portfolios for the ministers. Replying to a question if he would be willing to take up the finance portfolio again, Manpreet Singh Badal, said, “Someone who is seeking politics wouldn’t want to become the finance minister of the state.”
Brahm Mohindra 1st to take oath
CM Channi and deputy CM Sukhjinder Randhawa and O P Soni were sworn in last week. Brahm Mohindra was the first one to take the oath, followed by Manpreet Badal.
Rawat says new tasks for those dropped
Asked about the emotional outburst of two former ministers, Rawat, who was present at the swearing-in ceremony, said, “We have decided that those who could not find a place in the cabinet, will be given other responsibilities in the party and government. No one has been dropped and the idea was to include seven new people in cabinet. They (former ministers) will be serving in other capacities.”
He added, “I appreciate the fact that there are seven new ministers and most of them are young leaders, representation has been given to SC and OBC legislators.”
On the opposition of ‘tainted’ ministers, Rawat said records had been checked and those in question had been “exonerated by the (inquiry) commission.”