Amid wave of 'basanti', Mann takes oath in Bhagat Singh's ancestral village
Darpan News Desk IANS, 16 Mar, 2022 11:19 AM
Khatkar Kalan (Punjab), March 16 (IANS) Amid a wave of 'basanti' and chants of 'Rang de Basanti', a revolutionary song, AAP leader and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who donned his traditional 'basanti' turban, took oath of office on Wednesday in this village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, who laid down his life for the country's Independence, amidst a mass gathering of some 400,000 audience.
Mann, a former comedian, 48, replacing Congress' Charanjit Channi as the Chief Minister, became Punjab's youngest CM in nearly four decades.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mann. After the oath-taking, which was delayed by an hour, Mann in his address said he along with all the residents of the state also took oath as Chief Ministers. "You all will be the Chief Ministers," he said.
Mann will assume office in the evening, while the newly elected legislators will be administered oath during the one-day Vidhan Sabha session to be held in the state capital on Thursday.
However, Mann's cabinet will take oath on Saturday at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.
Harpal Cheema, Aman Arora, Baljinder Kaur, Meet Hayer, Sarvjeet Kaur Manuke and Budh Ram, all second-time legislators, are likely on the list of Mann's cabinet.
At the oath-taking venue, three podiums were set up on the stage. While the Governor and Mann were on the central podium, the second was occupied by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet, and the third by AAP's 91 legislators.
"The golden ray of sun has brought a new dawn on Wednesday," said Mann ahead of taking oath.
In a tweet, Mann said, "The golden ray of sun has brought a new dawn today. To realize the dreams of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Baba Saheb, the whole of Punjab will take oath today at Khatkar Kalan."
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is all set to herald a new 'Inquilab' or revolutionary spirit, this is what the party that came to power in Punjab by sweeping the assembly polls with a three-fourth majority is indicating by holding the oath-taking ceremony in Khatkar Kalan.
The BJP has also made efforts to invoke the legendry freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
In 2015, donning 'basanti' turban, Narendra Modi became the second prime minister to visit Hussainiwala in Punjab's Ferozepur district.
Hussainiwala is the place where the last rites of the three freedom fighters were held after they were hanged in Lahore on March 23, 1931.
Amid crisis, the Congress in poll-bound Punjab is all set to welcome an MLA from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who has resigned from the party. Sidhu has been demanding the replacement of Deol, who had represented former Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini in cases related to the 2015 sacrilege and subsequent police firing on protesters.
Chinese frontline troops at the China-India border are getting prepared in logistics for the upcoming winter, with several new measures and facilities revealed for the first time to improve the living and working condition of officers and soldiers, which have further boosted their morale as well as the capability to patrol and execute tasks in the high-altitude region during harsh weather.
Two of his associates, Ashok Tiwari and Ashish Shukla, have also been convicted. Judge Pawan Kumar Rai of a special MP/MLA court in Lucknow held Prajapati guilty of gang rape charges in the case under Sections 482/378/407 of the Indian Penal Code.
Calling for reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in Pakistan, former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally intervene to "open the proposal for a land swap between India and Pakistan for merger of the holy shrine at Kartarpur Sahib with India in exchange for a suitable chunk of land elsewhere.
Lucknow zone ADG S.N. Sabat, a Director-General level officer, says that the investigation by the SIT into the Kheri incident where 8 people lost their lives is on the right track.
In a bid to provide financial relief to cotton farm labourers, the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved the policy formulated for extending relief to the families of cotton-picking farm labourers affected by the damage caused to the crop by the pink bollworm disease.
