Badal inducts 15 new Ministers

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, JAN. 1. In an attempt to quell growing dissidence in the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr. Parkash Singh Badal, on Friday expanded his Council of Ministers raising its strength from 26 to 41. However, he has ruled out any further expansion and has claimed complete unity in the party.

At a simple function in the Punjab Raj Bhawan, the Governor, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) J. F. R. Jacob, administered the oath of office and secrecy to 15 Cabinet Ministers and 10 Ministers of State. While all the 10 previous Ministers of State were elevated, five new faces were inducted as Cabinet Ministers and another 10 as Ministers of State. This is the second expansion of the Ministry since the Akali-BJP alliance assumed power in the State in February 1997.

After the earlier expansion, when the strength of the Council of Ministers was raised to 33, five Ministers, including four of Cabinet rank, resigned in 1998. These were considered close to the former SGPC president, Mr. G. S. Tohra, whose differences with the Chief Minister came out in the open.

Later, Bibi Jagir Kaur, another Cabinet Minister had to resign following her election as the SGPC chief, while Sarup Singh died, thus reducing the strength of SAD in the ministry by seven.

In the 117-member Assembly, the SAD has 73 legislators and the BJP 18. In Mr. Badal's Ministry, which becomes the second largest ever, the BJP now has eight Ministers, as the Deputy Speaker, Dr. Baldev Raj Chawla and party's legislator, Mr. Tikshan Sud were taken in the ranks of Cabinet Minister and Minister of State, respectively.

The previous Congress Chief Minister, Mr. Harcharan Singh Brar, led the largest 42-member Ministry. The assassinated Beant Singh had 39, while Mrs. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal had 38 members in their respective Council of Ministers. Mr. Badal's jumbo two-tier Council of Ministers comes at a time when the State faces a serious resource crunch.

Significant among the new faces are Mr. Badal's son-in-law, Mr. Adaish Partap Singh Kairon and a close confidante, Mr. Jagdish Singh Garcha, who represent Patti and Qila Raipur assembly constituencies.

Mr. Badal's nephew, Mr, Manpreet Singh, was conspicuous by his absence from the ceremony. Sources indicated that he was not pleased at his name being included in the list as a Minister of State. There had been reports that the Chief Minister was under pressure to include his kin in the Ministry.

The ceremony was devoid of its usual fanfare due to the seven- day State mourning following the death of the former President, S. D. Sharma. After the ceremony Mr. Badal, told presspersons, that the expansion had been done to deal with the increased workload. He hinted at ``minor'' changes in the portfolios though he said he was not dissatisfied with the performance of any of the previous Ministers.

Mr. Badal said some other legislators could be adjusted as chairpersons of boards and corporations, while others could even be considered for appointment as parliamentary secretaries.

In response to a question, Mr. Badal said the appointment of the Irrigation Secretary, Mr. Bikramjit Singh as Chairman of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) was an ad hoc arrangement, while the government was looking for a suitable technocrat for the post.

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Section  : Regional
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