New Delhi: It may not have been the exhaustive revamp that some were expecting, but the Prime Minister said he hopes that today's cabinet reshuffle "is the last before we go to the polls." If his coalition lasts its term, general elections will be held
After so much of speculations, PM Manmohan Singh completed his cabinet reshuffle without touching finance, home, defence and external affairs. After the reshuffle, few ministers are dropped (including Maran and Murli Deora,who have
New Delhi: It may not have been the exhaustive revamp that some were expecting, but the Prime Minister said he hopes that today's cabinet reshuffle "is the last before we go to the polls." If his coalition lasts its term, general elections will be held in 2014.
After the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan this evening, Dr Manmohan Singh told reporters that once again, Rahul Gandhi had been invited to join the government but that like in the past, the Congress General Secretary said he preferred to work for the party. The PM described his new cabinet as "a balance between state representation, efficiency of ministers and continuity." He also reached out to an important coalition partner - "We have kept two seats vacant for DMK, I hope their decision will be coming soon" Dr Singh said. (Read: Cabinet reshuffle not complete yet, stresses Karunanidhi)
The other headlines of the reshuffle - the second during UPA 2 - are that Jairam Ramesh has left the Environment Ministry, albeit with a promotion; and Veerappa Moily has been replaced as Law Minister by Salman Khursheed. (Read: PM's new team announced: Entire Cabinet List) | (PM's new team)
Jayanthi Natarajan, former Congress spokesperson, will now handle the high-profile Environment Ministry as a Minister of State with Independent Charge. (Read: Who is Jayanthi Natarajan?)
Mr Ramesh, credited with revving up the Environment Ministry and criticised often by his colleagues for often obstructing development, has been promoted to Cabinet rank with the critical Rural Development Ministry, which was headed so far by Vilas Rao Deshmukh. Rural Development is known to be very close to Rahul Gandhi's heart and Mr Ramesh's elevation is being viewed in his camp as a big promotion. Mr Ramesh will now supervise some of the government's flagship schemes like NREGA or the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Sources say that Mr Ramesh has been asked to bring his signature energy and dynamism to the ministry. The move also allows the Prime Minister to reward a performing minister while removing him from a position where he was seen by some as a roadblock. . (Read: Who is Jairam Ramesh?)
The Rahul Gandhi connection is also visible in another appointment. One of his closest aides, Congress secretary Jitendra Singh has been inducted as a Minister of State for Home. Mr Singh is a first-time MP from Rajasthan and his bright, traditional turban added a splash of colour at Rashtrapati Bhawan this evening.
The Big 4 ministries - Finance, Defence, Home and External Affairs - remain unchanged.
Mr Moily, who will move to Corporate Affairs, exits the Law Ministry at a time when the government has been reprimanded in a glut of cases by the Supreme Court. Ranging from the telecom scam to the attempts to recover black money, the government has been accused of willful mismanagement and inertia. In the telecom scam, the Prime Minister's Office was asked to explain alleged inaction. The resignation of the Solicitor General over the weekend served, sources say, as the proverbial final straw. "I believe it's a great honour. It's a very very tough job ," said Mr Khurshid of his new assignment as Law Minister. "We are determined that we have three years in which we have to show outstanding performance."
As anticipated, no replacements have been announced for the vacancies created by Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja, both from the DMK, who have resigned over corruption charges. In Chennai, DMK chief M Karunanidhi said "the reshuffle is not complete" - an indication that he reserves the right to exercise his party's quota after a meeting of its general council later this month in Coimbatore. At that session, the DMK will decide whether it wants to participate in the UPA government or support it from outside. For now, Mr Karunanidhi's focus, say sources, is on trying to help his daughter who is in jail for her alleged role in the telecom scam that centred around Mr Raja.
Rail and more for Trinamool
Dinesh Trivedi of the Trinamool Congress has been given the Railways Ministry - a Cabinet rank post vacated by his party chief Mamata Banerjee after she was elected West Bengal Chief Minister. (Read: Who is Dinesh Trivedi?) The weekend saw two massive train accidents in UP and Guwahati and national anger over what's perceived as a leadership crisis in the ministry, and a lack of focus on passenger safety. Mr Trivedi's party colleague Sudip Bandopadhyay replaces him as Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare. Trinamool watchers are surprised at close Mamata confidante Mukul Roy being ignored. Mr Roy, who was Minister of State for Shipping, with additional charge of Railways in the 50-odd days since Mamata quit, has gone back to holding only his Shipping portfolio. He came in for much criticism after the weekend rail accidents. (Read: Trinamool's Mukul Roy loses Railways)
Beni Prasad Verma, a heavyweight leader from UP, has been elevated to Cabinet rank from Minister with Independent Charge. His ministry remains the same - Steel. Andhra Pradesh leader V Kishore Chandra Deo has been made Cabinet Minister for Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj, an important assignment in a Congress government. His appointment comes at a time that the Congress needs to consolidate in Andhra Pradesh, confronting as it is a new crisis with many of its leaders resigning over the demand for a new Telangana state. (Read: Who is V Kishore Chandra Deo?)
Milind Deora, a young MP from Mumbai, has been made Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology. His father, Murli Deora, resigned last week as Minister of Corporate Affairs. Today, he has been replaced by Mr Moily. (Read: Who is Milind Deora?)
Rajiv Shukla, as well known in the world of cricket as he is in politics, is now Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs.
Mr Deshmukh, who has been replaced as Rural Development Minister by Mr Ramesh, will now handle Science and Technology.
Five ministers sacked
Five ministers have been sacked, including MS Gill who was in charge of Sports and looked on a sticky wicket ever since the CWG controversies happened. The others are BK Handique, veteran Assam leader, Kantilal Bhuria, who loses the Tribal Affairs Ministry, Arun S Yadav from Madhya Pradesh who was the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries and Sai Prathap Annayyagari, who was Minister of State, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, an Andhra man known to be close to Jagan Mohan Reddy.
In replacing them, the PM has kept regional expectations in mind. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, victorious in the recently held Assembly elections, had recently said he would like more ministers from Assam. Mr Handique has been dropped but Congress MP from Dibrugarh, PS Ghatowar, will now be Minister of State with Independent Charge of Development of the North Eastern Region.
In other minor changes, Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma will hold additional charge of Textiles; Parliamentary Affairs Minister PK Bansal will have additional charge of Water Resources and the new Law Minister, Salman Khursheed, will also be in charge of Minority Affairs.
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