Karan Singh sworn in as Himachal Pradesh cabinet minister

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh expanded his cabinet on Thursday, inducting Banjar legislator Karan Singh as a cabinet minister on Thursday.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh expanded his cabinet on Thursday, inducting Banjar legislator Karan Singh as a cabinet minister on Thursday.

Himachal Pradesh governor Acharaya Dev Vrat administering the oath of office to Karan Singh, who was inducted as a cabinet minister in the Virbhadra government in Shimla on Thursday. HT Photo

Karan Singh, 58, was given the charge of ayurveda and cooperative departments. This is the second cabinet expansion the Congress government has carried out in over two-and-a-half years. Governor Acharaya Dev Vrat administered the oath of office to Karan Singh in a simple ceremony.

Earlier stint in BJP government

Karan Singh was the minister of state for elementary education (independent charge) in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government between 1998 and 2003. He joined the Congress in the 2012 assembly election and was elected to Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha for third time.

With the induction of Karan Singh, the total strength of the Himachal cabinet is 12, the maximum sanctioned strength.

In the first cabinet expansion in March 2013, former union minister Sukh Ram’s son Anil Sharma was inducted as minister and given the charge of rural development, panchayati raj and animal husbandry.