Balbir Bath sworn in as Cabinet Minister

Chandigarh : Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today expanded his Cabinet and filled the slot with Capt Balbir Singh Bath. Bath, a three-time MLA and a veteran Akali leader from Gurdaspur district, has filled the seat vacated by former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. He was administrated the oath of office and secrecy by Punjab Governor Shivraj V. Patil. On the lawns of the Punjab Raj Bhawan, the 68-year-old former infantry officer was facilitated by his former brother officers of the Jat Regiment as he took the blessings of the Chief Minister and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Surprisingly, almost the entire BJP leadership was conspicuous by their absence. The only BJP faces that were visible at the oath-taking ceremony were one or two MLAs from Bath’s own area. On the Chief Minister’s advice, the Governor allocated him the portfolios of Defence Services Welfare, Legal and Legislative Affairs, NRIs Affairs, Removal of Grievances and Pensions and Welfare of the Pensioners Wing of the Finance Department. These departments generally do not find any taker as these are “low work” departments and do not command much weight in the government. Talking to the media, Bath said he would try to do his best in whatever departments were given to him. “The CM knows my capabilities and will accord me work accordingly,” he added. While the BJP did not have many leaders to participate in the event, the SAD had almost half of the Cabinet present on the occasion. But at the same time, the absence of Bathinda MP Harsimrit Badal and MLA from Majitha Bikramjit Singh raised some political questions. Bikramjit had resigned from the Punjab Cabinet to pave way for Sukhbir Badal. With the vacancy created by the expulsion of Manpreet, he was hoping to be re-inducted. The absence of the brother-sister duo is being interpreted as an expression of their resentment. By giving one more seat in the Cabinet to the Majha region, the SAD has indicated that it wants to keep people in that belt happy besides showing to them the SAD-BJP’s gratitude for giving them a good response in the last General Election. With the induction of Bath, the strength of the Badal ministry has risen to 18. Bath said his priority would be to end unemployment, provide justice to people and create a corruption-free society.