BJP's Kamal Gupta, JJP's Devendra Babli join Haryana Cabinet
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 28
In the second expansion in two years, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today inducted an MLA each from his own party BJP and alliance partner JJP into his Cabinet.
Also read: With two more inductions, Hisar division gets lion’s share in Cabinet
Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, on the advice of the Chief Minister, administered the oath of office and secrecy to the two MLAs — BJP’s Kamal Gupta and JJP’s Devendra Babli — as Cabinet Ministers in the Haryana Council of Ministers.
While Gupta took oath in Sanskrit, Babli took oath in Hindi at the swearing-in ceremony held at Haryana Raj Bhavan and attended by Khattar, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and other Cabinet and state ministers, including Speaker Gian Chand Gupta. However, Home Minister Anil Vij was conspicuous by his absence.
The family members of the two new ministers were also present on the occasion.
Sources said induction of Gupta had been finalised long ago and he was given a Cabinet berth as a representative of his community. “We have eight MLAs and did not have a single minister, while communities with six MLAs have got substantial representation in the Cabinet. The Speaker was the sole representative so far but he is not a part of the Cabinet,” sources maintained. Though most of the other MLAs from the trader community are first-timers, Gupta was also chosen because of his seniority.
Babli, a rebel of the JJP who minced no words in attacking the Deputy CM and stoked repeated controversies in the past, was “rewarded” with a Cabinet berth. Sources maintained that this could be the party leadership’s “ploy” to silence him and make him fall in line. While a few other JJP MLAs have been made chairpersons of boards and corporations, it remains to be seen how the party will “accommodate” those who are still awaiting positions.
Meanwhile, after the swearing-in ceremony, Khattar, when asked to comment on the expansion, said: “The suspense is over now.” He was responding to a question on the talk of expansion doing the rounds for many months without really coming through.
Addressing mediapersons, Kamal Gupta, a two-time MLA, said the state’s and Hisar’s development would be his priority while first-time MLA Babli said he would live up to the expectations of the people.
Though the portfolios of both the ministers are awaited, they maintained that allocation of portfolios was the prerogative of the Chief Minister.
Vij skips ceremony
- Home Minister Anil Vij was not present at the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday
- BJP state chief OP Dhankar said: “He is our senior leader, best performer and we take decisions after consulting him.”
- Despite repeated calls, Vij was not available for comment
