Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann assumes office after promising people of not wasting a single day

Chandigarh, Mar 16: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann assumed the charge of his office at the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Mann was sworn in as the Punjab chief minister. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mann in a swearing-in ceremony at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

Mann received rousing welcome by employees standing around and in balconies. He also waived at them. The CM took guard of honour from the 82nd Battalion of the Punjab Police at the Civil Secretariat, according to an official release here. Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari and Director General of Police V K Bhawra, along with senior IAS officers, welcomed Mann by presenting him bouquets.

He took oath as Punjab chief minister at a ceremony thronged by tens of thousands of people in freedom fighter Bhagat Singh's village, where he promised to fight unemployment and corruption in the state. "The work will start from today itself. We will not waste even a single day. We are already late by 70 years," he said at the public meeting.

After taking the charge of his office, Mann in a short but clear message to the officers and employees said people of the state have given a historic mandate and his government will work for pro-people policies. Mann also assured that the officers and employees will work in tandem for the betterment of the lives of people, the release said.

Mann, a former comedian, advised humility to Aam Aadmi Party volunteers. "There should not be any report saying they have become arrogant," he said. He was the only one to take the oath at the event where many people in the crowd and on the dais, sported turbans and 'dupattas' in yellow -- the "Basanti" colour often associated with Bhagat Singh. PTI