CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister-elect Bhagwant Mann on Saturday met Governor Banwarilal Purohit in Chandigarh and staked claim to form government. Mann said the swearing-in ceremony will be held at 12:30 pm on March 16 at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, in Nawanshahr.
Inviting the “people of Punjab” to attend the oath-taking ceremony, Mann said, “We invite the people of Punjab (for the ceremony). Every Punjabi will take oath on that day...we will vow to sacrifice everything for the progress of Punjab… We will pay tributes to Bhagat Singh.”
AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be attending the swearing-in ceremony. The two leaders will pay obeisance at the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir and Sri Ram Tirath Mandir before taking part in a roadshow in Amritsar to celebrate the AAP’s stupendous victory and thank the voters.
Mann refused to reveal the names that would be inducted into his cabinet, but sources claimed six to seven ministers might take oath of office along with him. “The council of ministers will be good and will take historic decisions,” he said.
“Ours will be a government for the people. Once we assume office, each MLA of the AAP)will work for the growth and progress of Punjab. The state will be run on the principles laid down by Bhagat Singh, that, is public welfare.”Meanwhile, Punjab Police issued orders for withdraw of security of 122 former ministers and MLAs.