SHIMLA - After 18 months of coming to power in Himachal Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government Thursday expanded its 10-member ministry for the first time, inducting two ministers.

Jai Ram Thakur, a former state BJP chief, and Mohinder Singh - both legislators from Mandi district - were sworn-in by Governor Prabha Rau at Raj Bhavan here.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, senior party leaders like Satya Pal Jain, Manohar Lal and Mohinder Pandey and senior officials were present at the ceremony.

Talking to reporters later, Dhumal said with this expansion, both the vacancies in the ministry have been filled, as per the constitutional amendment which has fixed the size of a ministry in the state at 12.

The chief minister said that the portfolios of the two new ministers would be announced later.

On certain party legislators who are also demanding berth in the ministry, Dhumal said: “The decision to induct new ministers was taken after due consideration by the party high command.”

Hari Narain Saini, who is the lone Sikh in the assembly, Tuesday announced that he would not accept any post less than of a minister.

Earlier Thursday, the Dhumal government also inducted three chief parliamentary secretaries - Satpal Satti, Virender Kanwar and Sukh Ram Chaudhry. When in opposition, the BJP had questioned the prerogative of the chief minister to appoint chief parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary secretaries.

Dhumal said the previous government had appointed parliamentary secretaries without completing legal and administrative formalities.

“The previous Congress government had made appointments of parliamentary secretaries by not fulfilling official formalities. At that time, the posts were created without getting nod from the governor. So, all the appointments were unconstitutional. But we have completed all formalities,” he added.

State Congress chief Kaul Singh Thakur said: “Dhumal had first got the appointments of chief parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary secretaries in the previous government quashed through the state high court and later when former chief minister Virbhadra Singh introduced a bill in the assembly to make such appointments, Dhumal opposed it too.”

He said despite having enacted the law, the Congress government did not make appointments of chief parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary secretaries. His party will now expose the “double standards” of the BJP, he said.