WB cabinet reshuffle: 9 ministers, including Babul Supriyo, take oath
What's the story
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday made a major reshuffle in the cabinet. A total of nine new faces make their entry into the new cabinet, including Babul Supriyo, who quit the BJP to join the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Supriyo's appointment is considered as a reward for his departure from the BJP. All nine ministers were sworn in at an afternoon ceremony.
New ministers
Who all got the cabinet berth?
In addition to Supriyo, Trinamool Congress leaders Snehasis Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmick, Udayan Guha, Pradip Mazumder, Tajmul Hossain, Satyajit Barman, Birbaha Hansda, and Biplab Roy Chowdhury were sworn in at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata by Governor La Ganeshan. Hansda and Roy Chowdhury were sworn in as ministers with autonomous powers. Banerjee announced a Cabinet rejig on August 1, citing empty positions in various departments.
Twitter Post
Look at the images of the swearing-in ceremony
West Bengal cabinet reshuffle | Nine ministers take oath in Kolkata - Babul Supriyo, Snehasis Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmick, Udayan Guha, Pradip Mazumder, Tajmul Hossain, Satyajit Barman. Birbaha Hansda Biplab Roy Chowdhury are sworn in as Ministers with independent charges. pic.twitter.com/H4e4So7D8B
— ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2022
Details
Reshuffle announced following removal of Partha Chatterjee
Banerjee announced the new cabinet three days after removing Partha Chatterjee, who held numerous ministries. Chatterjee was fired on July 23 after the Enforcement Directorate arrested him for his suspected role in the state School Service Commission fraud in 2018. In 2018, the 69-year-old was the state education minister, and it was reported that employment was handed to candidates in exchange for money.
Unexpected
Supriyo joining was surprising
Supriyo's entry was a little surprising as he was earlier a BJP MP and joined TMC in September, six months after the party won the Assembly elections. He had won the Asansol Lok Sabha seat in 2019 on a BJP ticket. Last year, Supriyo had said that he would quit active politics after he was dropped as a Union minister from Narendra Modi's Cabinet.