Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday received a warm welcome from employees of Himachal Pradesh Secretariat in Shimla.
Thousands of officers and officials of the Secretariat queued up to welcome the Chief Minister at the Secretariat's Main Gate. People from different walks of life also thonged to congratulate him on assuming the office of Chief Minister.
Later while interacting with the Members of the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Services Officers' Association, the Chief Minister urged them to work with renewed zeal, dedication and commitment to come up to the expectations of the people of the State.
"Good governance was essential for good government. Therefore, it becomes the duty of the officers to devote their time to the redressal of the grievances of the people. He said that the officers should work to bring a pleasant change in the lives of the common man," Sukhu said.
Sukhu took oath as the 15th Chief Minister of the hill state at a ceremony in Shimla on Sunday.The oath-taking ceremony took place at 1.30 pm on Sunday at Raj Bhavan, Shimla.
A loyalist of the Gandhi family, Sukhu (58) is a four-time MLA and former chief of Congress in the state.
Sukhu is known as an affable and approachable leader who has a vast network in the hill state due to his long years in the organisation. He also holds a broad organisational experience in the state owing to his connection with the grand old party for many years.
He was the party's state unit president from 2013 to 2019 and spoke his mind even if it was not to the liking of the party's tallest leader Virbhadra Singh, a six-time Chief Minister.
Sukhu has been in favour of promoting and grooming younger Congress leaders in Himachal Pradesh.
With Congress chief ministers over the past four decades coming from Rampur Bushahr, Congress central leadership was apparently keen to expand its choice.
Sukhu will be the first Congress leader from "lower Himachal" to come to the top post.
Sukhu belongs to a middle-class family. He was active in politics from his student days and fought elections as an NSUI candidate. He was president of NSUI and the Indian Youth Congress in the state. He fought and won elections for Shimla Municipal Corporation. Sukhu won the assembly election for the first time in 2003 from Nadaun.
Sukhu was chairman of the Congress Campaign Committee for the assembly elections in which the party focused on local issues and made lucrative promises including an old age pension scheme.
( With inputs from ANI )
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