BJP has cheated people, used money to buy mandate: Rahul Gandhi

After steering the Congress to a stupendous victory, Amarinder Singh took oath as Punjab chief minister. Amarinder, 75, was sworn in as the state's 26th chief minister along with nine ministers. Attended by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, the swearing-in ceremony saw Navjot Singh Sidhu, who left the BJP for the Congress before elections, taking oath as a cabinet minister. Speculation was rife that the cricketer-turned-politician would be given the post of deputy chief minister but he was the third among the list of nine ministers sworn in.

While speaking to media, Rahul said, "I thank people of Punjab for showing faith in us. We will work for the state tirelessly.'' He added that the BJP has used money to win power in Manipur and Goa, they stole governments.

The state can have a maximum of 18 ministers including the chief minister. The Congress has 77 MLAs in the assembly. Amarinder had announced that the oath taking ceremony would be a simple affair in view of the financial crisis facing the stage.

A galaxy of senior Congress leaders led by the party Vice President attended the ceremony including Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ajay Maken, Sachin Pilot, Partap Singh Bajwa. Amarinder's wife former Union Minister Preneet Kaur and his family members were also present.

OneIndia News (With PTI inputs)