Thaindian News

Shimla, July 9 (IANS) Two new ministers were inducted in the Himachal Pradesh government Thursday, nearly 18 months after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in the state.
The government had earlier 10 members in its council of ministers.

Jai Ram Thakur, a former state BJP chief, and Mohinder Singh - both legislators from Mandi district - were sworn-in by Governor Prabha Rau at Raj Bhavan here.

While Thakur, who is a novice in the ministry, has been given the portfolio of panchayati raj and rural development, Singh, who was the PWD minister in the previous BJP government, has been given transport, housing and urban development.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, senior party leaders Satya Pal Jain, Manohar Lal and Mohinder Pandey and leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes besides senior officials were present at the brief ceremony.

Dhumal told reporters that with this expansion both the vacancies in the ministry have been filled, as per the constitutional amendment which has fixed the size of a ministry in the state at 12.

Dhumal said: “The decision to induct new ministers was taken after due consideration by the party high command.”

Hari Narain Saini, who is the lone Sikh in the assembly, Tuesday announced that he would not accept any post less than that of a minister.

Earlier Thursday, the Dhumal government also inducted three chief parliamentary secretaries - Satpal Satti, Virender Kanwar and Sukh Ram Chaudhry.

When in opposition, the BJP had questioned chief minister’s prerogative to appoint chief parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary secretaries.

Dhumal said the previous government had appointed parliamentary secretaries without completing legal and administrative formalities.

“The previous Congress government had made appointments of parliamentary secretaries by not fulfilling official formalities. At that time, the posts were created without getting nod from the governor. So, all the appointments were unconstitutional. But we have completed all formalities,” he added.

State Congress chief Kaul Singh Thakur said: “Dhumal had first got the appointments of chief parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary secretaries in the previous government quashed through the state high court and later when former chief minister Virbhadra Singh introduced a bill in the assembly to make such appointments, Dhumal opposed it too.”

He said despite having enacted the law, the Congress government did not make appointments of chief parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary secretaries. His party will now expose the “double standards” of the BJP, he said.