Amid religious prayers, Amarinder assumes office

Punjab's new Chief Minister Amarinder Singh took charge of his office at the Punjab Secretariat here on Thursday afternoon amid prayers of different religions.

The second floor office of Punjab's 26th Chief Minister reverberated with the chanting of sacred hymns from the Bhagwad Gita, Guru Granth Sahib, Quran and Bible as he entered it in the company of several of his newly inducted ministerial colleagues, legislators, close aides and associates.

This is the second time that Amarinder Singh has become the Punjab Chief Minister. He earlier held the post from 2002 to 2007.

Amarinder Singh, along with a nine-member council of ministers, took the oath of office earlier on Thursday morning at the Punjab Raj Bhawan in the presence of several prominent dignitaries including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

After assuming charge, Amarinder Singh told the media that he was committed to fulfilling all his electoral promises.

He reiterated his promise to constitute a Special Task Force (STF) to wipe out the drugs menace from the state within four weeks.

He said farm loan waiver, industrial revival and employment were some of the other programmes high on his government's agenda, which he said would take up on priority.

--IANS

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