Mamata Banerjee reshuffles Cabinet; Moloy Ghatak makes a comeback

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expanded her cabinet on Wednesday by reinstating a former minister and inducting two new ministers. Moloy Ghatak, who was dropped from the cabinet in May , was on Wednesday appointed the labour minister. A veteran trade unionist, Ghatak is an influential leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party in the industrial belt of Asansol-Durgapur. Banerjee had asked Ghatak to resign from the cabinet after the party's Lok Sabha candidate from Asansol, Dola Sen, blamed him for her defeat in the AprilMay polls.

Ghatak takes charge of the la bour ministry from Purnendu Bose, who has been moved to the agriculture ministry. Bose had been the labour minister since 2011 when Trinamool came to power in Bengal.

Recent incidents of labour unrest, one of which led to the killing a jute mill CEO, were blamed for Bose's exit from the labour ministry.

The two new ministers are Jyotirmoy Kar and Ashis Banerjee. Kar is the party's MLA from Patashpur in West Midnapore district and Banerjee is an MLA from Rampurhat in Birbhum district.

While Kar has been appointed as minister of the department of planning, Banerjee has been named as minister for the higher education department.