LUDHIANA, October 28: Joy and jubilation marked the taking over of oath by the local MP Manish Tewari as the new Information and Broadcasting minister of the country. It is for the first time since independence of the country that Ludhiana got representation in the central ministry.
It seemed to be a Deewali ahead of the Deewali as people burst the crackers and distributed sweets all across the city. People danced to the beats of the drums as Tewari was taking oath. The scene outside his residence was to be seen to be believed as people distributed sweets and ladoos among the passers bye.
In his message to the people of Ludhiana after taking the oath, Tewari said, while he felt grateful to the Congress President Ms Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for reposing so much confidence in him, it would not have been possible had they (the people of Ludhiana) not elected him to the parliament.
He reiterated his commitment towards the people here. He said, “while I am grateful to all the Congress workers and leaders without whose support it would not have been possible, my doors will always remain open for everybody”. He said, he feels proud to be the representative of the people of this glorious place who are known for their enterprising spirit.
Tewari said, while he has been working for and working with the people of Ludhiana for about a decade now, the added responsibility at the centre with the government will in no way affect his work for the people of his constituency. “I am sure the new responsibility will be more helpful in solving people’s problems in a better way”, he remarked.
He said, “I have no hesitation in proclaiming today that it is not just me who has become the minister at the centre, it is the acknowledgement towards every worker and the leader of the constituency whose work has been acknowledged by Ms Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh”.
Congress leaders and legislators have hailed the appointment of Tewari as the minister in the union cabinet with independent charge. They said, each and every Congressman felt proud that for the first time Ludhiana had got representation in the central ministry.
Among others present on the occasion included Sunny Kainth, Baljinder Bunty, Satwinder Jawaddi, Navneesh Malhotra, G.S Mand, Rohit Pahwa, Anil Kashyap, Vikram Pehlwan, Amrit Varsha Rampaul, Rajudin Saifi, Rajat Kundra, Vinku Rajput, Anil Parti, Kulwant Sidhu, Pardeep Sharma
and others.