Bhagwant Mann takes oath as new Punjab CM, promises to address unemployment, farm woes
Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday sworn in as the chief minister of Punjab days after the Arcind Kejriwal’s party turned the tables, wresting power from the Congress with a landslide victory.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mann in the swearing-in ceremony that took place at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Punjab’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district. Mann took oath in Punjabi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the comedian-turned-politician on taking oath as the chief minister of Punjab. “Congratulations to Shri @BhagwantMann Ji on taking oath as Punjab CM. Will work together for the growth of Punjab and welfare of the state’s people,” he tweeted.
Addressing the public at the event after oath-taking, Mann promised to remove corruption and create jobs in the state. He also promised to work for those who did not vote for the Aam Aadmi Party.
He said that Bhagat Singh was not just concerned about India getting its freedom but also the hands it will go into once it is free. “His concerns were valid. We are going abroad to those from whom we took our freedom. We will stay in our country and work for its betterment,” he said.
Reciting a verse by Bhagat Singh, Mann said “It is everyone’s birthright to love, why not make the soil of my nation my lover?”
Meanwhile, a number of singers and artists, including Gurdas Mann, Karamjit Anmol, singer-turned-politician and Congress MP Mohammad Sadique, and Amar Noorie, were present at the event.
Elaborate arrangements were made for the ceremony which was attended by AAP supporters from various parts of the state. The men were wearing yellow turbans while women draped a yellow ‘dupatta’.
Besides newly-elected AAP MLAs, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and other leaders wearing yellow turbans took part in the ceremony.
The AAP romped home winning 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, decimating the Congress and the SAD-BSP combine.