CHANDIGARH: The reshuffle of the Punjab cabinet is learnt to be on the cards.
According to sources close to Chief Minister Beant Singh, it is proposed to induct at least three new faces from the districts of Sangruru, Faridkot and Gurdaspur. One of them happens to be the chairman of a public sector undertaking.
Though not many changes are expected, the area is likely to fall on three ministers, including two ministers of state; one of them has been shuttling to Delhi to save his position. The registration of Minister of State for Public Works Maninderjit Singh Bitta, who now heads All India Youth Congress, is likely to be accepted. He had submitted his registration to the All India Congress Committee general secretary Ahmed Patel after his elevation, for forwarding it to the Chief Minister.
One post fell vacant in June last, with the resignation of Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Umrao Singh, following his election to the Lok Sabha from Jalandhar, in the by-election. Yet another vacancy was caused with the election of Education Minister Harnam Dass Johar as Vidhan Sabha Speaker. Beant Singh has been consulting some of his senior party leaders.
The portfolios of majority of the ministers would not be affected. Beant Singh carried out the exercise of reshuffling the portfolios earlier this year, in the wake of persistent complaints of corruption against some of his ministers; all the ministers had then submitted their resignations to enable the Chief Minister to carry out the exercise.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 17, 1993
