In Chhattisgarh, the opposition party Congress has filed a petition in the Chhattisgarh High Court on Friday (September 5). This petition states that the current number of the state cabinet is higher than the constitutional limit.

The party claims that according to the Constitution, the number of ministers (including the Chief Minister) in the state with the 90 -member assembly cannot exceed 13, while it is currently 14. The hearing on this petition is likely to be held next week.

What is constitutional provision?

Under Article 164 (1A) of the Constitution, no state cannot have more than 15% ministers of the total number of assembly members in any state. This Article was added by the 91st Constitution Amendment Act, 2003. The size of the Council of Ministers in a state cannot exceed 15% of the total number of members of that state assembly, but even if the assembly is small, the number of ministers will not be less than 12. According to PTI, the Congress says that the government has included 14 ministers without any constitutional permission.

BJP government’s side

Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai recently included three BJP MLAs in the cabinet, causing the number of ministers to 14. On raising questions on this, Deputy Chief Minister Arun Saw said that the government has adopted the example of Haryana. Haryana also has a 90 -member assembly and a 14 -member cabinet, and it is in line with constitutional provisions.

Opposition’s attitude and forward path

Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant had already written a letter to Governor Ramen Deka demanding that a minister be removed, as it is a violation of the limit. Now the Congress has formally approached the court. If the court agrees with the arguments of the Congress, then the state government may have to exclude a member from the cabinet, which will have a big impact on political equations.

The cabinet of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai was expanded on Wednesday (August 20) in Chhattisgarh. Three MLAs took oath as a minister at Raj Bhavan in Raipur, the state capital.

At the Raj Bhavan, Governor Ramen Deka administered the oath of office to three BJP MLAs Rajesh Aggarwal, Guru Khushwant Saheb and Gajendra Yadav. Today, with the appointment of three ministers, the number of ministers in the cabinet led by Sai has increased to 14.

Who got which department?

Newly appointed Minister Gajendra Yadav- School Education, Village Industry, Law and Legislative Affairs

Minister Khushwant Saheb- Skill Development, Technical Education and Employment, Scheduled Caste Development

Minister Rajesh Aggarwal gets tourism, culture, religious trust and glory

CM Vishnudev Sai congratulated

Chief Minister Sai congratulated the new members of the cabinet Gajendra Yadav, Guru Khushwant Saheb and Rajesh Aggarwal. CM Sai expressed confidence that the newly appointed ministers will work with full readiness for public service with their dedicated loyalty and efficiency and will give new dimensions towards development and good governance to the state of Chhattisgarh.

Deputy CM also responsibility for sports youth welfare

Deputy CM Arun Saw also got the Sports Youth Welfare Department with his department. At the same time, Sports Youth Welfare Department has been removed from Revenue Minister Tank Ram Verma and has been given the responsibility of Higher Education Department. Apart from this, Minister Lakhan Lal Dewangan has got the responsibility of Excise Department.

Number of ministers in Chhattisgarh in Chhattisgarh

Since the constitutional provision regarding the size of the cabinet, there have been 13 ministers including the Chief Minister till the previous government in Chhattisgarh. According to sources, Chhattisgarh has adopted ‘Haryana Model’, where there are 14 ministers including the Chief Minister in the 90 -member assembly.

According to constitutional provisions, the size of the Council of Ministers of a state, including the Chief Minister, cannot exceed 15 percent of the total number of assembly. In Chhattisgarh with 90 members, this limit is 13.5, making a place for 14 cabinet members.