Naveen’s new team consists of 13 Cabinet, 8 State Ministers
Naveen’s new team consists of 13 Cabinet, 8 State Ministers
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Bhubaneswar: The new government of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was sworn in on Sunday and includes 13 Cabinet members and eight Ministers of State (MoS), including seven new faces and five women.
At a special ceremony in the new convention centre of Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, Governor Ganeshi Lal administered the oath of office to the 21 new ministers. For the first time, the state Governor came at the Lok Seva Bhawan for the oath-taking, rather than the Raj Bhawan, where swearing-in rituals are generally held.
According to BJD sources, Jagannath Saraka, a well-known tribal leader, was the first to be sworn in because he is named after Lord Jagannath.
Usha Devi and Rohit Pujari took the oath in English, while 19 ministers took the oath in Odia.
Cabinet Minister Rajendra Dholakia is one of the seven new faces in the ministry.
Five people have made a comeback: Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Pratap Keshari Deb, Pramila Mallick, Pradip Kumar Amat, and Usha Devi.
Five powerful leaders, including Law and Panchayati Raj Minister Pratap Jena, Higher Education Minister Arun Sahoo, Minister of State (Home) Dibya Shankar Mishra, Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera, and Labour & Employees State Insurance Minister Sushanta Singh, were among the twelve ministers who were dropped.
All ministers in the Naveen Patnaik government were asked to quit on Saturday, setting the door for the reshuffle on Sunday. Surjya Narayan Patro, the Speaker, also submitted his papers. His family, on the other hand, claims he left due to health issues.
The reshuffle comes just days after the government of Naveen Patnaik completed three years of his fifth term on May 29.
