Nayab Singh Saini takes oath as Haryana CM for second time
Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday took oath as the chief minister of Haryana at a mega show of strength in the heart of Panchkula attended by a galaxy of NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Saini took the oath in Hindi.
Ambala Cantt MLA Anil Vij, Israna legislator Krishan Lal Panwar, Badshahpur MLA Rao Narbir Singh, Panipat MLA Mahipal Dhanda, Faridabad MLA Vipul Goel, Tigaon MLA Rajesh Nagar, Palwal MLA Gaurav Gautam, Gohana MLA Arvind Kumar Sharma, Tosham MLA Shruti Choudhary, Ateli MLA Arti Singh Rao, Barwala MLA Ranbir Singh Gangwa, Narwana MLA Krishan Bedi and Radaur MLA Shyam Singh Rana were administered the oath of office by Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya.
The BJP’s choice of the day for the swearing-in ceremony is significant as it is Valmiki Jayanti. Sage-poet Valmiki is the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana and a revered figure, particularly among Dalits.
Haryana can have a maximum of 14 ministers, including the chief minister.
Chief ministers of several NDA-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh, were in attendance as were BJP president J P Nadda, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah.
Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
He told reporters that the new BJP government will work towards taking Haryana forward at a rapid pace under the leadership of PM Modi.
The people of Haryana have shown faith in the Modi government’s policies, he said on the assembly poll results.
Replying to a question, Saini said the BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ (poll manifesto) will be fully implemented.
“Look at our 2014 Sankalp Patra and 2019 Sankalp Patra, we implemented them completely and now this Sankalp Patra will also be implemented by our government,” he said.
In the recently concluded assembly polls, the BJP secured an unprecedented third term in Haryana, winning 48 seats in the 90-member assembly. Three Independents, including Hisar MLA Savitri Jindal, have also extended support to the party.
Saini, 54, was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in a meeting held at the party office in Panchkula on Wednesday.
In a departure from tradition, the BJP had declared that Saini would remain chief minister if the party returned to power in Haryana after the assembly polls.
Saini, an OBC face of the party, had replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the chief minister of Haryana in March. He won the Ladwa assembly seat in Kurukshetra district by 16,054 votes.
