Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab CM Channi, Sidhu to visit Delhi, hold talks on cabinet expansion

Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi will meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi to hold talks on the expansion of the state cabinet, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Channi will be accompanied by Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu and the two newly appointed deputy chief ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni.It is not clear when the meeting with Rahul Gandhi to discuss the names of the ministers in the new Punjab cabinet will take place as he is on a personal visit to Shimla. Upon his arrival at the national capital on Tuesday, the chief minister-led delegation will meet senior Congress leaders Harish Rawat and KC Venugopal and two central observers.There are already hints that several new faces, including a few from the group that spoke out against former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, might be inducted into the new cabinet to give it a fresh look and make a clean break from the previous administration.Charanjit Singh Channi was sworn in as the 16th chief minister of Punjab on Monday to become the first politician from the Dalit community in the state to take charge of the top post. The Congress leadership announced his name as the chief minister last Sunday.Channi served as the minister of technical education in the state government led by Amarinder Singh, who submitted his resignation last Saturday, after a months-long power-sharing tussle with Navjot Singh Sidhu.After taking the oath, CM Charanjit Singh Channi held a press conference where he called himself an ‘aam aadmi’ (common man) and urged the Centre to take back the three new farm laws. Channi made a slew of promises to the people of Punjab which included free water supply to smaller households, reduction in the power tariff and also the elimination of sand mafia in the state.(With inputs from Navneet Sharma, Punjab bureau)

Hindustan Times

21-09-2021

Chandigarh