Chamling takes oath as CM for fourth consecutive term
FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS
Gangtok: A heady mix of old hands, young and fresh faces and women members featured in the 12 member new cabinet headed by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling who was sworn for the record fourth consecutive term today.
Mr. Chamling was sworn into office for the fourth consecutive term this morning by Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh at the Ashirbad bhavan at the Raj Bhavan complex here in the capital.
The Governor administrated the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Chamling as the Chief Minister of Sikkim. The Governor then administrated the oath of office and secrecy to the other 11 cabinet ministers individually.
The new cabinet of Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) government was significant as none of the old cabinet members of the last term who were handed tickets and won were retained in Mr. Chamling’s new team.
The new cabinet has seen a total new team which included seven first timers. It follows the model of ‘five old and seven new faces, including two women’ of the Chief Minister but in a slightly different manner.
The difference is that barring the Chief Minister the rest of his 11 cabinet colleagues are either new or making a comeback after a rest.
“It is a hundred percent new cabinetâ€, said Mr. Chamling later in the evening during a press meet.
Mr. Chamling has retained home, finance, revenue and expenditure, Department of Personnel, Planning and economic reforms, North eastern council and other departments not specifically allocated to any other ministers.
Regarding his decision not to retain the power department which he had held in the previous term, the Chief Minister told SIKKIM EXPRESS that it was done so as he could not given proper time. “It was due to my busy schedule and I have handed the responsibility to a young minister (SG Lepcha). He is from North Sikkim and is well sensitized about the local issuesâ€, he said.
Among the old hands Ran Bahadur Subba, the fourth term MLA who defeated Nar Bahadur Bhandari from Soreng-Chakung constituency in west Sikkim and was a MLA in the last term has been given a cabinet berth with the roads and bridges and labour department in his portfolio.
Thinley Tshering Bhutia also a fourth term SDF MLA from Kabi-Lungchok who was not in the cabinet last term but had previously served as minister has bounced back as the minister for water security and public health engineering and transport departments.
The Speaker of the last Assembly, DN Takarpa who is serving for the second term after winning from Rinchenpong constituency in west Sikkim this time has also been included in the cabinet. He has been handed health care, human security, family welfare, animal husbandry and law and parliamentary affairs departments. Read the rest of this entry »