Chandigarh, Aug 12 - In these times of recession, when millions have lost their jobs, one family in Punjab seems to be gainfully employed in public life - with the exception of a sole member.

With Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal being re-inducted as deputy chief minister in his father and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's government Monday, the council of ministers and the ruling party are quite a family affair for the state's ruling political clan.

Except for Surinder Kaur, wife of Parkash Singh Badal and mother of Sukhbir Badal, all other members of the Badal family and their close relatives now hold public offices or are in public life.

While the father-son duo became the first case in India's political history in January this year to hold the top two positions in a government when Sukhbir was inducted as deputy chief minister for the first time, there are other close relatives to give them company too.

Badal senior's nephew, Manpreet Singh Badal, is Punjab's finance minister while son-in-law Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon is the state's food and supplies minister.

Another distant relative, Janmeja Singh Sekhon, is the state's irrigation minister.

Sukhbir Badal's wife, Harsimrat Kaur, recently entered public life after becoming a Lok Sabha MP from the Bathinda constituency in southwest Punjab.

Her brother and Sukhbir's brother-in-law, Bikram Singh Majithia, too is in public life as a legislator from the Majitha constituency near Amritsar. He was earlier a cabinet minister in the Badal government but quit the post in January this year to make way for Sukhbir's elevation into the government.