Singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo took oath as a minister on Wednesday as Mamata Banerjee expanded her Cabinet in West Bengal, PTI reported.
Apart from Supriyo, Trinamool Congress leaders Snehasis Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmick, Udayan Guha, Pradip Mazumder, Tajmul Hossain, Satyajit Barman, Birbaha Hansda and Biplab Roy Chowdhury were administered oath by Governor La Ganeshan at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.
Hansda and Roy Chowdhury took oath as ministers with independent charges, ANI reported.
Banerjee had announced a reshuffle of her Cabinet on August 1, saying that several departments were lying vacant. She made the announcement three days after removing Partha Chatterjee from the Cabinet, who held several portfolios including the commerce and parliamentary affairs ministries.
Chatterjee was sacked after the Enforcement Directorate arrested him on July 23 for his role in the alleged scam in the state School Service Commission in 2018. The 69-year-old was the state education minister in 2018 when allegedly jobs were given to candidates in return for money instead of deserving candidates who had qualified in the recruitment process.
Newly-inducted minister Supriyo, who was earlier a BJP MP, joined the Trinamool Congress in September, six months after the party won the Assembly elections.
Supriyo had won the Asansol Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 General Elections on a BJP ticket. In July last year, Supriyo had said that he would quit active politics after he was dropped as a Union minister from Narendra Modi’s Cabinet.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!