The Hindu : Front Page : Dhumal sworn in Chief Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 31, 2007
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Dhumal sworn in Chief Minister

Sujay Mehdudia

“Himachal Pradesh will witness new phase of development”

Other Ministers will be sworn in on January 9: BJP sources
“We will not discriminate on the basis of regions”

— Photo: AP

SECOND INNINGS: Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani greets Prem Kumar Dhumal after the latter was sworn in Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh in Shimla on Sunday.

Shimla: Prem Kumar Dhumal, who led the Bharatiya Janata Party to an impressive victory in the Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh, was on Sunday sworn in Chief Minister for a second time.

Governor V.S. Kokje administered the oath of office and secrecy to him on the historic Ridge Maidan here.

This was the first time a Himachal Chief Minister took the oath outside the Raj Bhavan.

Mr. Dhumal (63) was the only legislator sworn in. Party sources indicated that other Ministers would be sworn in on January 9.

The BJP top brass were present in full strength at the ceremony. Among them were Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani, the former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudi and the party’s national vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Also present were Uttarakhand Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar.

No Congress leader present

Neither the outgoing Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh nor any other Congress leader attended the ceremony. Immediately after taking the oath in Hindi, Mr, Dhumal walked up to the senior BJP leaders to take their blessings. Later, he left for Delhi to take part in a Ram Sethu rally.

Cabinet composition

In Delhi, Mr. Dhumal said he would hold consultations with the party leadership to finalise the composition of the Cabinet, and would endeavour to give representation to all sections.

Thanking the electorate for giving the BJP a strong mandate, Mr. Dhumal said his government this time was no longer dependent on others, and pledged to give a new direction to development with the focus on youth and women. “This time around, the State will witness a new phase of development and progress, and we will not discriminate on the basis of regions as was done by the previous Congress Government.”

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