Ten Aam Aadmi Party MLAs in Punjab took oath as state Cabinet ministers on Saturday morning in Chandigarh, ANI reported.

The MLAs who took oath as ministers were Harpal Singh Cheema, Baljit Kaur, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Vijay Singla, Lal Chand Kataruchak, S Gurmir Singh Meet Hayer, S Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Bram Shankar (Jimpa), and Harjot Singh Bains.

Cheema was the first one to take the oath of office, followed by Baljit Kaur, Harbhajan Singh and Singla, the Hindustan Times reported.

Out of the newly sworn-in ministers, only Cheema and Meet Hayer have won their second term in the Punjab Assembly. Baljit Kaur is the only woman in the Cabinet.

Kaur on Saturday expressed gratitude to the people of Punjab and the AAP high command, ANI reported. “It is AAP’s good mindset that they’ve included a woman in Cabinet,” she said. “I’ll carry out all my duties honestly. As a woman and doctor, I’ll work for development of women and health sector.”

With the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, the Punjab Cabinet now has seven more vacancies.

On March 16, Bhagwant Mann, who was announced as the AAP’s chief ministerial candidate in January, took oath as the 18th chief minister of Punjab in Nawanshahr district’s Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

After his victory, Mann had said that change in Punjab will be visible in a month and that the party will tackle unemployment on priority.

The Aam Aadmi Party had won an overwhelming majority in Punjab, bagging 92 of the 117 Assembly constituencies.

Recruitment starts for vacant posts

In its first meeting held on Saturday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced recruitment for 25,000 vacant posts in the state departments, PTI reported. Of the total position, 10,000 are in Punjab Police.

Within a month, Mann said, the process of advertising for these job posts will begin, PTI reported. “In the coming days, we will also fulfil our rest of the guarantees [given during polls],” he added.

He said the jobs will be given purely on merit and no recommendations or bribes will be entertained, PTI reported. “This decision would open new vistas of employment for the youth by providing jobs to them in the government sector through a transparent and merit-based mechanism,” said Mann.