Janjivan Bureau / Chandigarh : OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday took oath as the chief minister of Haryana at a ceremony in Panchkula attended by a galaxy of NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Saini took oath in Hindi.
Ambala Cantt MLA Anil Vij, Israna MLA Krishan Lal Panwar, Badshahpur MLA Rao Narbir Singh, Tosham MLA Shruti Choudhary, Ateli MLA Arti Singh Rao and Radaur MLA Shyam Singh Rana were among those administered the oath of office by Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya.
The BJP’s choice of the day for the swearing-in ceremony is significant as it is Valmiki Jayanti. Sage-poet Valmiki is the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana and a revered figure, especially among Dalits.
Haryana can have a maximum of 14 ministers, including the chief minister. Chief ministers of several NDA-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh, were in attendance as were BJP president J P Nadda, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah.
In the October 5 Haryana polls, the BJP secured an unprecedented third term in the state, winning 48 seats in the 90-member assembly. The Congress won 37 seats. Saini, 54, was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in a meeting held at the party office in Panchkula on Wednesday. In a departure from tradition, the BJP had declared that Saini would remain chief minister if the party returned to power in Haryana after the assembly polls.
After taking oath as a minister in the Haryana Cabinet led by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, BJP MLA Krishan Bedi said that the new government will complete the work as decided in the ‘Sankalp Patra’, the saffron party’s manifesto for the Haryana Assembly elections.
“Today I have got the opportunity to join Nayab Singh Saini’s team. My top leadership has expressed faith in me. Our government has been formed for the third time in the state, which had never happened before. So the public has also trusted us… We will complete the work that we had decided in the Sankalp Patra,” Bedi said after taking oath as cabinet minister.
In its election manifesto ‘Sankalp Patra’, the BJP had promised a monthly assitance of Rs 2100 to women, two lakh government jobs, 10 industrial towns besides a guarantee of government jobs for Agniveers, and a full scholarship for SC and OBC students at government medical and engineering colleges.
Haryana CM Swearing-in Ceremony Live Updates | ‘Never Demanded CM Post, But My Supporters Were Angry Because…’: Anil Vij After Taking Oath As Minister
Senior Haryana BJP leader Anil Vij who took oath as cabinet minister in the Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday refuted rumours that he had demanded CM post.
“I never demanded CM post but my supporters were angry because rumours were spread about me that I don’t want to take responsibility. I never said that, I always said that if high command wanted me to take responsibility, I would have done it,” Vij said after taking oath as cabinet minister in the new Nayab Singh Saini government.
