Hooda expands ministry, includes HJC defectors

CHANDIGARH - Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Friday expanded his ministry, inducting four new cabinet ministers, including two legislators who had defected from the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) and joined the ruling Congress earlier.

The four new ministers, all in tne cabinet rank, were Harmohinder Singh Chatha, Kiran Chaudhary, Rao Narender Singh and Satpal Sangwan.

Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers at the Haryana Raj Bhavan Friday evening.

The new ministers included two legislators, Rao Narender Singh and Satpal Sangwan, who had defected from the HJC in November 2009 and joined the Congress along with three other HJC legislators.

Two other former HJC legislators, Zile Ram Sharma and Vinod Bhayana were also Friday rewarded by Hooda. They were later inducted as chief legislative secretaries (CLS).

Only one more legislator from the HJC, Dharam Singh, who had also joined the Congress, was left out.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former MP Satya Pal Jain had earlier written a letter to the Haryana governor asking him not to induct the defected HJC legislators in the state ministry.

Jain pointed out that the case against the Anti-Defection Act was pending against the five legislators who had joined the Congress, and it would improper to induct them in the government.

In the October 2009 assembly election, though the Congress emerged the single largest party in the 90-member assembly, it failed to get simple majority on its own.

The party formed the government with the help of Independent legislators who extended support. Some of them got ministerial berths and became chief parliamentary secretaries.

The group of HJC legislators joined the Congress party a month later (Nov 2009).

Hooda also inducted Ram Kishan Gujjar as CLS.

Newly inducted minister H.S. Chatha had earlier Friday resigned as the Haryana assembly speaker. He has been allocated the cooperation and food and supplies portfolios and has been ranked second after Hooda in the hierarchy of ministers.

Kiran Chaudhary, who made a comeback as a full-fledged cabinet minister in the Hooda government despite not being on the best of political terms with the chief minister, was allocated the important departments of excise and taxation and public health.

Rao Narender Singh has been made the health and medical education departments. These were earlier held by education minister Geeta Bhukkal.

Satpal Sangwan has been given the revenue and rehabilitation departments.

The Hooda government now has 11 cabinet ministers, including the chief minister, and three ministers of state. All the ministers of state hold independent charge of at least one department.