Sukhbir Back as Badal Deputy
Ending a 40 day hiatus, Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday took oath of office as the deputy chief minister of Punjab.
Sukhbir, son of Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Punjab Governor SF Rodrigues at the Raj Bhawan ceremony in Chandigarh.
Sukhbir took the oath in Punjabi before touching his parents’ feet.
The swearing in ceremony marked Sukhbir’s second oath as his father’s deputy in less than seven months.
He was first inducted as deputy chief minister on January 21, he, however, tendered his resignation in July 1, as he could not be elected within the six month time-frame set by the constitution.
He fulfilled the constitutional pre-requisites on Thursday when he wrested the Jalalabad assembly segment in a by-election.
Though the swearing in ceremony was a low-key affair several big guns in Punjab politics, including Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, were in attendance.
