In Cabinet rejig, Punjab CM divests Arora of 2 key portfolios

Tribune News Service

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, March 15

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has sought the permission of Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit for a reshuffle in the portfolios of his Cabinet colleagues, wherein Aman Arora has been divested of two key portfolios — Information and Public Relations and Housing and Urban Development. He is the third senior-most minister in the Cabinet after the CM and Finance Minister Harpal Cheema.

The Governance Reforms portfolio has been taken away from Gurmeet Meet Hayer and Removal of Grievances from Anmol Gagan Maan. These portfolios have been given to Arora. The CM has also given the portfolio of Employment Generation and Training to Arora.

While the CM has kept the portfolio of Housing and Urban Development, Chetan Singh Jouramajra has been given the charge of Public Relations. Though party leaders have termed the reshuffle “routine”, the fact that this comes days after the Secretary of the Public Relations Department, Rahul Bhandari, was transferred has raised eyebrows. The change in the minister’s portfolio comes amid tensions over the release of money for advertisements by administrative secretaries of different departments, rather than by the Public Relations Department. In the last Cabinet rejig in January, when Dr Balbir Singh was inducted into the Cabinet as a replacement for Fauja Singh Sarari, Jouramajra had to let go of the Health portfolio and was given the charge of Defence Services Welfare, Food Processing and Horticulture, in what was then perceived to be a snub by Mann. Food Processing is now proposed to be given to Laljit Singh Bhullar.

Party sources said the issue was discussed between Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal during their visit to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Other than Arora and Jouramajra, the portfolios of four other above-mentioned ministers were decided to be changed.

Raj Bhawan sources said though they had received a letter from the CM for reallocation of portfolios, the Governor was yet to sign the file, following which a notification would be issued.

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