CHANDIGARH: A day after taking oath of office and secrecy along with his 13 Cabinet colleagues, second-time Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday assumed office here and vowed to tirelessly serve 2.80 crore people of Haryana.
“I assumed charge as the chief servant of the state, ” he wrote on X.
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message of inclusion, he said, “I am emotional and bowed down. The resolve of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ is paramount, ” he said, adding, “We will leave no stone unturned in making Haryana the best, prosperous and self-reliant state.”
“Under the leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our full majority government will be dedicated to service, good governance, equality, prosperity and welfare of the poor, ” the soft-spoken Saini added.
With BJP forming the government for a record third consecutive term by securing an absolute majority in the state, defying an anti-incumbency of 10 years, a low-profile non-Jat but Other Backward Classes (OBC) face Saini, 54, took oath as the Chief Minister on Thursday for the second time amidst a galaxy of NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Council of Ministers, comprising 11 Cabinet Ministers and two Ministers of State (Independent Charge), also took the oath of office in a 45-minute ceremony in Panchkula near here.
Two women Cabinet Ministers -- Arti Rao, the daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh; and Shruti Choudhry, granddaughter of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal -- are first-time legislators.
Shruti Choudhry and her mother Kiran Chaudhary, now a Rajya Sabha member, had joined BJP after leaving Congress following a bitter fight with former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda.
Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office and secrecy to Saini and his ministers.