Rajasthan: 2 RAS officers appointed as special associate to Deputy CMs

JAIPUR: Two officers of the Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) have been transferred and made special associates of each of the newly appointed Deputy Chief Ministers, a day after they took oath of the office.

While RAS officer Gopal Singh has been made special assistant to Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari, RAS Sawan Kumar Chayal has been appointed as Special Assistant to Deputy Chief Minister Dr Premchand Berwa.

The personnel department of Rajasthan issued an order in this regard on Saturday night. Earlier, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Friday assured people that his government will strive to fulfil all the guarantees for the state as was laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in the BJP's manifesto for the Assembly elections last month.

Speaking to reporters after chairing the first cabinet meeting of the new government on Friday, CM Sharma said, "We will strive sincerely to fulfil all the guarantees of Prime Minister Modi and those listed in our manifesto. We would like to address issues that people not just in the state but across the country are grappling with.

We will work towards an 'Antyodaya' Yojana. We'll move ahead in a planned manner." In his first big decision as CM, Sharma announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the paper leak cases. He said strict punishment would be meted out to those found guilty.

"We have put together an SIT to investigate the paper leak cases. These incidents broke the morale of our students. Those found responsible will be brought to justice and face strict punishment. An anti-gangster task force will also be formed," he said. A first-time MLA from Sanganer, Sharma, took the oath as the Rajasthan CM in Jaipur on Friday.

The oath of office was administered by Governor Kalraj Mishra. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with BJP National President JP Nadda, were among the dignitaries at the swearing-in ceremony. Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa were also sworn in as deputy chief ministers of the state.

Sharma hails from Bharatpur in Rajasthan's eastern district and is considered to be close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The young leader holds a master's degree in political science. He won the Sanganer assembly seat by an impressive margin, securing 145,162 votes against 97,081 votes by his Congress rival Pushpendra Bhardwaj.

The BJP swept Rajasthan, defying exit-poll projections of a tight race, winning 115 seats. The Congress came in a distant second with 69 seats. The state polled 199 of the 200 assembly seats on November 25.