Amarinder takes oath as Punjab Chief Minsiter

Seventy five-year-old Amarinder was sworn in as the state's 26th chief minister. This will be Amarinder's second stint as chief minister. Earlier, he led the Congress government from 2002 to 2007. Speculation was rife that Sidhu, the cricketer-turned politician, would be given the post of Deputy Chief Minister but he was second among the list of nine ministers to be sworn in. Brahm Mohindra was sworn in as cabinet minister right after Amarinder.

Two Ministers of State - both women- were sworn in at the ceremony attended among others by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. The ceremony was held at the Raj Bhavan here and the oath was administered by Governor V P Singh Badnore.

Sporting a black sleeveless jacket adorned with army medals, Amarinder took the oath in English. Besides Sidhu those sworn in were Manpreet Singh Badal, estranged nephew of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Rana Gurjit Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi. 

Two women MLAs Aruna Chaudhary and Razia Sultana were sworn in as Ministers of State (Independent Charge). The Council of Ministers has representation from different castes, regions and religious faiths.

One of the strongest regional satraps of the Congress, Amarinder Singh put the party back in the saddle in Punjab after the "father of all battles" that decimated the SAD and crushed the AAP's dream of expanding its footprint beyond Delhi.

Amarinder, a widely respected and popular leader, steered the Congress to a landslide victory winning 77 seats in the 117 member Assembly to occupy the Chief Minister's post for the second time. The maharaja's win in Punjab after 10 years has also rekindled the hopes for the revival of the grand old party.

Belonging to a very rare breed of politicians who have seen action in the Indo-Pak war, Singh this time tasted success after Akali Dal supremo Parkash Singh Badal foiled his previous attempts to become chief minister in 2007 and 2012.

Once a leader of the Akali Dal, the 'scion of Patiala' fought in the 1965 war after he rejoined the army a few months after his resignation. He again resigned from the Services as a decorated soldier at the conclusion of the war.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh took charge of his new office at the Punjab Secretariat here on Thursday amid multi-religious prayers.

The second-floor office of Punjab's 26th Chief Minister reverberated with the chanting of sacred hymns from the Bhagwad Gita, the Guru Granth Sahib, the Quran and the Bible as he entered it along with several of his newly inducted ministerial colleagues, MLAs and associates.

This is the second time that Amarinder will occupy the Punjab chief minister's stately office. He had earlier been the chief minister of the state from 2002 to 2007.

Amarinder, along with a 9-member council of ministers, had taken the oath of office earlier in the morning at the Punjab Raj Bhawan in the presence of several prominent dignitaries, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi.

After assuming charge, Amarinder said he was committed to fulfilling all his electoral promises and his government would take several important decisions at its first cabinet meeting scheduled on Saturday. He reiterated his promise to constitute a Special Task Force (STF) to wipe out the drug menace from the state within four weeks, as promised in the Congress poll manifesto.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi charged the BJP with "stealing" the mandate of people in Goa and Manipur and forming governments in these states by using money power.

"The BJP used money power in Manipur and Goa. They stole the mandate of the people...," Gandhi said while replying to a question on BJP forming government in Manipur as well as in Goa, where Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar won the trust vote on Thursday.

 The Congress leader was speaking on the sidelines of the swearing-in of Capt Amarinder Singh as Punjab Chief Minister at a function in Raj Bhavan here.

On Punjab, Rahul, who had a brief interaction with reporters, thanked the people of the state for showing faith in the Congress and assured them that the Amarinder Singh government will work tirelessly to take the state forward.