Chandigarh, March 5
The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, announced the setting up of three committees, within hours of the constitution of his Council of Ministers which included 13 Cabinet Ministers and six Ministers of State, besides two Parliamentary Secretaries, here today.

A former Chief Minister, Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, was among 19 members of the Council of Ministers which was administered the oath of office and secrecy at Punjab Raj Bhavan by the Governor, Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), at a largely attended ceremony earlier in the day.

Later in the afternoon, the Chief Minister administered the oath of office to two Parliamentary Secretaries to complete the first phase of the formation of the new government.

He said that Mr Surinder Singla, MLA from Bathinda, would head the high-powered Finance Committee and enjoy the status of Cabinet Minister. Dr S.S. Johl, a former Vice-Chancellor, would head the Committee on Reorganising Agriculture and Diversification. Mr Ajit Singh Chatha, a former Chief Secretary of the state, would head the Committee on the Revival of Industry in the state. The consent of Dr Johl and Mr Chatha had been obtained by the government, he added.

Dr Kewal Krishan and Mr Darbari Lal would be party candidates for the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively, he added. A couple of more such committees would be constituted , he said, maintaining that the new government had been activated with the constitution of the Council of Ministers.

“Many first-timers and youngsters will be inducted into the Council of Ministers in the coming months,” Capt Amarinder Singh told newsmen in the afternoon, maintaining that some of the hopefuls must get some “legislative experience” before their induction. He said that certain other senior party legislators who could not be accommodated in the first phase of government formation would also be adjusted subsequently. While the new Council of Ministers was on expected lines, two members from the original list — Mr Raghunath Sahay Puri and Mr Mohinder Singh Kaypee — were elevated to Cabinet rank.

The portfolios were also announced in the afternoon with Mrs Bhattal getting Rural Development and Panchayats, Agriculture and Development of Women and Children.

Mr Lal Singh, a close confidant of the Chief Minister, will be the new Finance and Food Supplies Minister. In fact the Chief Minister himself retained some of the important departments, including Home, Vigilance, Power, Information and Public Relations, Industries and Cooperation besides Sports and Youth Welfare, Civil Aviation and Horticulture.

Mr Khushal Behl will be the Education Minister while Mr Mohinder Singh Kaypee will look after Technical Education and Industrial Training. Mr Sardul Singh will be the new Excise and Taxation Minister.

The oath-taking ceremony witnessed enthusiastic participation by not only family members of leaders, supporters and workers of the Congress but also a large number of officials.

Unlike the swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Minister on February 27, the ceremony today was much better organised. Entry was by invitation.

The Chief Minister, sporting a bottle green turban and his usual white pyjama-kameez, escorted the Governor to the dais at 10.57 a.m., three minutes before the actual oath-taking time. In the first batch were Mrs Bhattal, Ch Jagjit Singh and Mr Lal Singh. Interestingly, the oath was taken by the Ministers in batches of threes and fours.

The Chief Minister said that the new excise policy would be considered by the new Cabinet at its first meeting tomorrow. He would leave for New Delhi for a series of meetings with various Union Ministers, including the Prime Minister, the Agriculture Minister, the Food Minister and the Finance Minister, to discuss various issues, including the ensuing procurement of wheat. “The Union Government has made it clear that the present system of procurement of foodgrains will continue,” he said, maintaining that as far as the minimum support price of wheat was concerned, it was high on his agenda for the Delhi visit.

He said the state government had completed the first phase of the reshuffle in the civil administration, including the police, to give the people the promised “transparent and clean government”. “We have tried to put in the best team for the reconstruction of Punjab,” he said. The state of affairs in Punjab was much worse than expected, he said maintaining that the government would, through either a White Paper or general brief, apprise the people of the exact fiscal position.

He clarified that Mr Bharat Inder Singh Chahal was Media and Information Adviser to him. Similarly, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, a general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee attached with him, would be his Political Secretary.

He agreed that certain districts could not be represented in his Council of Ministers because the party did not win many seats in these areas.

He said he was not opposed to the Lok Pal, but “we want a Lok Pal who is free from political affiliation”. His government would consult the Chief Justice, the Advocate-General, the Legal Remembrancer and others to decide about the present Lok Pal.

About the judicial commission on corruption, he said the government was clear about taking action from the top to eradicate corruption.