Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sanjeev Arora as a Cabinet Minister today. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, along with several Cabinet ministers, MLAs, and other dignitaries, were present at Raj Bhavan on this occasion.
Chandigarh: A significant change occurred in Punjab's politics today as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann added new energy to his team by inducting Sanjeev Arora into the Cabinet. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sanjeev Arora in a brief and dignified ceremony held at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday. Several ministers from the cabinet, MLAs, and officials were present at the event, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
In the oath-taking ceremony, which lasted only 11 minutes, Sanjeev Arora took the oath in the Punjabi language and joined the Bhagwant Mann cabinet as the 17th minister. However, this also set the stage for another change in the cabinet, as the NRI affairs department was taken from Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and given to Sanjeev Arora.
Responsibility for NRI Department and Industry Assigned
The newly appointed minister, Sanjeev Arora, has also been given the industry department, in addition to the NRI affairs. It is believed that the Bhagwant Mann government has assigned this responsibility to Sanjeev Arora to promote industries and attract foreign investment in Punjab. There is also a possibility that Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal may be assigned a significant department in the future.
Dhaliwal, during his three-year tenure, had previously handled departments like agriculture, rural development, panchayat, and later NRI affairs, but now his role has been changed.
Dhaliwal's Journey: From Grace to Ground
There are also heated political discussions regarding the change of departments of Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal. Dhaliwal had done remarkable work in important departments like agriculture and rural development in the past three years. He had freed thousands of acres of panchayat land from encroachment and accelerated development plans in rural areas. Despite this, in the last reshuffle, he was assigned a department like NRI affairs, which was being called a 'nominal department' in political circles. Now, that department has also been taken from him and given to Sanjeev Arora, which has intensified various discussions regarding Dhaliwal's position.
Political analysts believe that Sanjeev Arora's appointment is a strategic political move by Bhagwant Mann. Through Arora, the government wants to accelerate investment in industries and also strengthen its hold in the NRI community. The government's intentions are clear in protecting the interests of the crores of Indian expatriates living in Punjab through the NRI department and seeking their economic cooperation. At the same time, a strategy to strengthen Punjab's economy by creating an environment of employment and investment through the industry department will also be worked upon.
16 Ministers in the Cabinet Again
After Sanjeev Arora's inclusion, the total number of ministers in the cabinet had reached 17, but after removing Kuldeep Dhaliwal, this number has again come down to 16. The government claims that this reshuffle in the cabinet has been done for public interest and smooth administrative functioning. However, the opposition is targeting this change by calling it the "instability" of the Bhagwant Mann government.
Sanjeev Arora now faces a dual challenge. On the one hand, he will have to improve the industrial environment in Punjab, and on the other hand, he will have to re-establish the trust of the NRI community. The NRI vote bank is considered quite influential in Punjab, and solutions to their problems have been expected for years.
