Imphal, April 28: Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh inducted eight more ministers today completing the formation of his 46-day-old council of ministers.
The newly inducted ministers include a woman and two newly elected members.
Governor Gurbachan Jagat administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers at Raj Bhavan banquet hall at 4pm today.
The new ministers are Irengbam Hemochandra Singh, Govindas Konthoujam, Moirangthem Okendra Singh, Ngamthang Haokip, Francis Ngajokpa, Kh. Rartankumar Singh, Akoijam Mirabai Devi and Md Abdul Nasir.
Mirabai and Nasir are the newly elected members .
Ibobi Singh took oath as the chief minister for the third consecutive term on March 14 and inducted three ministers on March 16.
The size of Manipur ministry is 12. Barring Phungjathang Tonsing, in-charge medical and Th. Debendra Singh in-charge revenue, law and legislative affairs and general administrative department who took oath on March 16, all the nine new ministers were not ministers in Ibobi Singh’s previous government.
Gaikhangam, the home minister, who also took oath on March 16, was not a minister in the previous ministry though he was offered a ministerial berth. Mirabai is the second woman minister in Manipur after W. Leima Devi, who held the charge of agriculture during Wahengbam Nipamacha Singh ministry in the late nineties. Talking to reporters, Ibobi Singh said he was considering appointing parliamentary secretaries to accommodate party MLAs who could not be accommodated in the ministry. Ibobi Singh also hinted that the ministry would be reshuffled when the need arose.
“I accommodated all the communities and wanted to accommodate all the districts. However, because of the limited number of berths there could not be geographical representations,” Ibobi Singh said. Of the nine districts, Chandel and Ukhrul, dominated by the Nagas, are not represented in the ministry though Congress has its MLAs in the two districts.
“I wanted to give a chance to those who were elected two or three times, but could not be in the council of ministers earlier,” the chief minister said. Many Congress members who missed the bus did not turn up for today’s swearing-in ceremony.
Ibobi Singh distributed portfolios to the new ministers and gave additional charge to Gaikhangam and Phungzathang. Ibobi Singh is holding the charge of department of personnel, finance, power, municipal administration, housing and urban development, minor irrigation, science and technology, tourism and others.
Additional charge of tribal affairs and hills was given to Gaikhangam. Hemochandra will be looking after the public health engineering department and labour and employment. Govindas got commerce and industries, sericulture and veterinary. Okendra was given charge of education and food and civil supplies.
Ngamthang will take charge of irrigation and flood control. Franchis was given rural development and economic and statistics departments. Mirabai got social welfare and cooperative departments. Ratankuamr got works and transport departments while Abdul got agriculture and fishery departments.
