Deo's govt in Chhattisgarh to hold cabinet meet, discuss poll promises

The first cabinet meeting of the newly-formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Chhattisgarh will take place on Thursday, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has said.

Sai was sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday, while two party MLAs Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma took oath as deputy chief ministers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Ramdas Athawale, BJP president J P Nadda and many other party leaders attended the swearing-in ceremony here that saw a massive gathering of around 50,000 people.

Sai and his two deputies later went to the Mantralaya and took charge after performing rituals.

The three held talks with state chief secretary Amitabh Jain and Director General of Police Ashok Juneja there.

Talking to reporters, Sai said, "The cabinet meeting will be held on Thursday. An introductory programme with secretaries of all departments will also be held. Subsequently a press briefing will be done."

Asked about decisions which could be taken on a priority basis in the cabinet, Sai said, "We will discuss it in the cabinet. However, you all know 'Modi ki guarantees', the promises made in our poll manifesto. Discussion will be held on it in the cabinet and priorities will be fixed."

After being elected as the BJP legislature party leader on Sunday, Sai had said sanctioning 18 lakh houses to beneficiaries of the PM Awas Yojana will be the first work to be done in the state.

He also said that on December 25, the birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, bonus against paddy procurement for two years, which was pending during the previous BJP government (2013-2018), will be given to farmers (who had then sold their paddy).

"All the guarantees of Modi Ji, our poll promises, will be fulfilled in the next five years," he said.