Page 6 - The Indian EYE 032522

BIG STORY MARCH 25, 2022 | The Indian Eye 6

‘The Great Indian Laughter Chal- hard day and night, and give them an on Friday.
lenge’ in 2006, when Congress lead- honest government. We have to make Not just Punjab, the entire coun- moDI, shah anD rajnath
er and his now political rival Navjot Rangla Punjab,” Mann had said in a try is looking at the new government to attenD YogI’s
Singh Sidhu was a judge of the reality tweet while announcing the cabinet with aspiration and hope. oath-taKIng CeremonY
show, garnered him popularity. rime Minister Narendra
He entered mainstream politics
Modi, Home Minister Amit
in 2011 by joining Manpreet Singh PShah, Defence Minister Ra-
Badal led Punjab People’s Party. In jnath Singh, Bharatiya Janata Par-
2012, he unsuccessfully contested the ty national president JP Nadda are
elections from the Lehragaga con- among the list of invitees sched-
stituency. uled to attend the oath-taking
Mann later left Punjab People’s
Party and joined Aam Aadmi Party in ceremony of Yogi Adityanath as
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,
2014. For the first time in his political said sources.
career then, he successfully contested According to sources, Yogi
the election from the Sangrur Lok Adityanath, who led his party
Sabha seat. His importance in Pun- to a thumping victory in Uttar
jab politics grew when he defeated Pradesh, is likely to take oath as
the veteran leader of Punjab Sukhdev Chief Minister of the state for
Singh Dhindsa, who was then with the the second tenure on March 25.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Other than Union Ministers and
After the 2017 Assembly elec-
tions, Mann was made the party’s the leadership of BJP and Rash-
triya Swayamsevak Sangh, many
state unit chief. In 2019, he again won Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal with Dep- other Union Cabinet Ministers
from the Sangrur Lok Sabha constitu- and chief ministers of BJP-ruled
ency. Mann gained popularity with his uty Chief Minister Manish Sisodia attend the oath-taking ceremony of party leader Bhagwant states are also among the invitees.
comedy stints in the TV show ‘Jugnu Mann as Punjab Chief Minister (ANI) If sources are to be believed, sev-
Mast Mast’. He also featured in sever- eral Opposition leaders have also
al other comedy shows. made their way to the list of invi-
Mann was administered the oath
by Punjab Governor Banwarilal Puro- tees to the oath-taking ceremony.
“Congress president Sonia
hit. Attendees of the event included Gandhi, Congress General Sec-
the veteran Punjabi singer Gurdas retary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra,
Maan, AAP leader Raghav Chadha Samajwadi Party founder Mu-
among other party MLAs. layam Singh Yadav, SP chief Akh-
The ceremony was an AAP exclu-
sive event. Besides Delhi Chief Minis- ilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj
Party chief Mayawati are among
ter Kejriwal, no other Chief Ministers the prominent names likely to be
of the states were present. Outgoing invited from the opposition par-
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Chan- ties,” said sources.
ni was also missing. Beneficiaries of various cen-
A day after assuming office, Pun-
jab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tral and state-run welfare schemes
have also been invited to the
on Thursday urged officials to turn Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters take part in the victory roadshow by Bhagwant Mann and oath-taking ceremony with a spe-
the state into a frontrunner. party National Convener Arvind Kejriwal, in Amritsar (ANI) cial focus on women beneficiaries.
Addressing his maiden meeting
Preparations for the grand
after taking oath, Mann urged the top ceremony have begun in Eka-
officials of the state’s civil and police the AAP-led Punjab government took people,” Kejriwal said. na Stadium of Lucknow. As per
administration to discharge their du- the first step towards fulfilling the “Many many congratulations to sources, the names of cabinet
ties as public servants in the letter and promises which it had made during the people of Punjab. Bribery will members have already been final-
spirit. Giving an example of the In- the run-up to the state assembly polls no longer work in Punjab,” Kejriwal ized by the BJP. Home Minister
dian cricket team, the newly-elected - a corruption-free government. tweeted. Amit Shah has been appointed as
chief minister said, “Matches are won Aam Aadmi Party National Con- Now, 10 MLAs of the Aam Aad- the central observer to look after
or lost but it is the team spirit which venor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday mi Party (AAP) took oath as Minis- the government formation in Ut-
matters. Our prime concern should hailed as “historic” the announce- ters in Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab tar Pradesh. Former Jharkhand
be to make our state as real Punjab, ment by Punjab Chief Minister Bhag- Cabinet at a swearing-in ceremony in chief minister Raghubar Das will
not the London, California or Paris.” want Mann of launching an anti-cor- Chandigarh on Saturday. The leaders also accompany Shah in ensuring
The AAP leader said that his ruption helpline stating that bribery who will become a part of the cabi-
government would not indulge in po- will no longer work in Punjab. net are Harpal Singh Cheema, Baljit government formation in the state
as the co-observer.
litical vendetta and asked the entire “In Delhi, I had done a similar Kaur, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Vijay The BJP retained power in
state administration to discharge their thing in the past when we were in Singla, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Gur- Uttar Pradesh by winning 255 out
duties fearlessly without any political power for 49 days previously. I had meet Singh Meet Hayer, Kuldeep of 403 constituencies, securing a
pressure, unlike earlier regimes, with got arrested about 30-35 officials ac- Singh Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh Bhul- 41.29 per cent vote share. Aditya-
utmost dedication, sincerity and hon- cused of bribery. We took strict action. lar, Bram Shanker and Harjot Singh nath will be the first Chief Minis-
esty to cherish the aspirations of the In those 49 days, corruption not only Bains. ter in the last 37 years to return to
Punjabis who have voted AAP to pow- decreased, but it also got finished. An “The people of Punjab have giv- power after completing a full term
er with the unprecedented verdict. Aam Aadmi’s phone had become a en a big responsibility to all of us. We in the state.
A day after Mann assumed office, tool of providing empowerment to have to serve the people by working

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