Punjab: Sanjeev Arora’s portfolios allocated, Harjot Bains gets local bodies, Aman Arora industries, power goes to Tarunpreet Sond

The Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Monday redistributed the portfolios held by cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora — arrested by the Enforcement Directorate — among ministers Aman Arora, Harjot Singh Bains, and Tarunpreet Singh Sond.

Aman Arora, who holds the new and renewable energy sources portfolio, has been given charge of the industries and commerce and investment promotion department, while education minister Bains has been allocated the local government department, according to a notification issued by the chief minister’s office.

Sond, who is the rural development, panchayats, tourism, and labour minister, has been assigned the power portfolio. Sanjeev Arora will remain in the cabinet, according to people in know of the matter. Following Arora’s arrest, Opposition parties had sought his immediate removal from the cabinet.

The proposal for the reshuffle was sent by the chief minister to governor Gulab Chand Kataria on May 10, seeking approval for the changes in departmental allocations. Governor Kataria, in his letter dated May 11, stated that he had approved the allocation of portfolios as proposed by Mann. The notification further said that the remaining portfolios would remain unchanged.

The development comes amid significant political churn in Punjab, marked by a series of party switches and heightened Centre-state political tensions.

The ED Directorate on May 9 arrested Punjab industries minister Arora in connection with an alleged GST fraud-linked money laundering case involving certain entities linked to him. Arora, 60, was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act following raids conducted at his official residence in Chandigarh’s Sector 2 on Saturday morning.

While the AAP dubbed the ED raid at Arora’s residence and his subsequent arrest as politically motivated, Hampton Sky Realty Limited, linked to the minister, said the company has faith in the legal process and is fully cooperating with all the statutory authorities and will continue to do so.

A special PMLA court in Gurugram on Sunday remanded Arora to ED custody for a week.