Arunachal CM names full team of 11 ministers

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, who replaced Jarbom Gamlin on November 1, on Wednesday named his full team of eleven ministers by expanding his 15-day-old ministry.

The new ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy of Governor J J Singh at a simple function at the Raj Bhawan in Itanagar on Wednesday afternoon.

As per the Constitution provisions, Arunachal Pradesh with a 60-member legislative assembly can have maximum 12 ministers including the chief minister.

Significantly, the name of Jarbom Gamlin, who was ousted by Tuki following a prolonged dissension that required intervention from the Congress high command, was missing from the list of ministers to be working under him.

However, in a gesture of reconciliation Tuki included Jarbom's  brother Jakar Gamlin in the ministry. Jakar is one of the four new faces in the ministry, rest being Tapang Taloh, Kamlung Mosang and Rajesh Tacho.

Six other ministers are Setong Sena, Atum Welly, Tanga Byaling, Bosiram Siram, Chowna Mein and Pema Khandu .

All of them were members of the previous ministry headed by Jarbom Gamlin.

The 11th minister is Newlai Ting Khatra who is a veteran with experience of holding ministerial responsibility under three erstwhile chief ministers -- Gegong Apang, Mukut Mithi and Dorjee Khandu.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Tuki said portfolios would be allocated to ministers within a couple of days. He hoped his ministers would work in coordination with all MLAs and visit villages by themselves to make assessment of effect of development process at the ground level.

Tuki was in the forefront of dissidence against previous chief minister Jarbom Gamlin who had taken charge of the state in May this year after the tragic demise of his predecessor Dorjee Khandu in a copter crash on April 30.

The dissidence could be tamed only after intervention from the Congress high command and resulted in removal of Gamlin from the hot chair.