NEW DELHI, 29 January 2006 — Finally, the much awaited Cabinet reshuffle is most likely to take place today, according to top officials in the Prime Minister’s Office. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday met Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi to discuss the impending Cabinet reshuffle.
Sonia drove to the prime minister`s official residence accompanied by her Political Secretary Ahmad Patel and official sources said that Manmohan has lined up a number of meetings during the day.
With Parliament session being advanced to Feb. 16 and President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam leaving on a three-nation 10-day foreign tour on Jan. 31, today is the likely day for carrying out the Cabinet expansion and reshuffle exercise.
As the president returns from Seoul on Feb. 9, new ministers would hardly have time to prepare themselves for the three-month budget session if the expansion is undertaken then. The sources indicated that the exercise could be mainly to fill existing vacancies. According to sources, Manmohan Singh had more or less finalized the nature of the reshuffle in consultation with Sonia Gandhi and the final structure will be chalked out during the course of their meeting.
According to unconfirmed reports, veteran parliamentarian and a foreign affairs expert Karan Singh has been tipped to be the new minister for external affairs. JMM leader Shibu Soren, who could not continue as Jharkhand chief minister having lost his majority, is likely to be reinducted into the cabinet as the union coal minister.
There are about half a dozen vacancies in the Manmohan Singh ministry arising from the resignation of External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh following the oil-for-food scam, deaths of Power Minister P.M. Sayeed and Sports Minister Sunil Dutt, shifting of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and K. Rahman Khan becoming deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Another vacancy was created by the resignation of Jagdish Tytler, who was a minister of state holding independent charge of the NRI affairs portfolio, in the wake of the Nanavati Commission’s report on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Minister of State for Water Resources Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav resigned in the wake of an arrest warrant issued against him in a case relating to his alleged involvement in the escape of his brother from police custody. Among the names doing the rounds for possible induction into the 20-month-old UPA government are Ambika Soni, Motilal Vora, Saifuddin Soz, A.K. Anthony, Vayalar Ravi and Salman Khurshid.
Sources indicated that Prithviraj Chavan may be moved out of the Prime Minister’s Office and given an independent charge of a ministry.
