Punjab's new cabinet: 15 Congress leaders take oath as ministers

A total of 15 ministers to be part of the new Cabinet of Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi took oath on Sunday at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.

The oath took place a week after Channi's name was announced as the new chief minister of the poll-bound state.

After Channi's swearing-in on Monday, rounds of discussion were held to finalise the names of the new ministers.

The ministers who took oath on Sunday are Brahm Mohindra, Manpreet Singh Badal, Tripti Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Rana Gurjit Singh, Aruna Chaudary, Razia Sultana, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Vijay Inder Singla, Randeep Singh Nabha, Raj Kumar Verka, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Pargat Singh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Gukrirat Singh Kotli.

Sunday's Cabinet expansion and swearing-in follow the chief minister's recent visit to New Delhi where the new inclusions have been vetted by the high command.

However, at the last moment, a controversy erupted with six MLAs objecting to Rana Gurjit Singh's inclusion in the Cabinet. Rana Gurjeet Singh was dropped from the Cabinet in January 2018 because of his alleged involvement in the mining scandal. The leaders demanded that the cabinet berth should go to a clean Dalit leader.