Cabinet reshuffle: Veerappa Moily may get HRD

Mangalore Today News Network

NEW DELHI, Jan 18, 2011: In what’s believed to be the latest in a series of preparations for a Cabinet reshuffle, the Prime Minister has met Sonia Gandhi and Congress leader Ahmed Patel this morning.

Changes in the Cabinet are expected by the end of this week. Sources say the Congress is divided on the extent of change. While the PM is keen to see younger faces in his Cabinet, a faction believes that with a stormy Budget session of Parliament weeks away, this is not the time for a big shake-up.

Last evening, the PM met President Pratibha Patil for 45 minutes - they are believed to have discussed changes to the PM’s team. Another round of consultation is expected between the PM and Gandhi to finalise changes.

The exercise may take place on Jan 19 around 4 p.m. Rashtrapati Bhavan, however, neither confirmed it nor denied it. If not on Jan 19, the reshuffle is expected by the end of this week.

Barring a few ministries, government departments have virtually been on a go-slow mode in anticipation of the rejig.

Even senior ministers have stayed put in the capital. Along with the reshuffle, an overhaul of the Congress party is also on the cards. Indications are that changes in the government are likely to be restricted to filling up of three Cabinet berths besides minor reshuffle in four-five ministries.

Two of the vacancies were caused by the controversial exits of A Raja and Shashi Tharoor while the third was caused due to the coronation of Prithviraj Chavan as Maharashtra Chief Minister.

Kapil Sibal, who was given additional charge of the Telecom Ministry after Raja’s resignation, is likely to take it up fully and relinquish the HRD Ministry which may go to Law Minister Veerappa Moily.

The Prime Minister, sources said, was in a mood to drop Moily but the Rahul Gandhi factor, which is being repeatedly cited in various circles in the context of the impending reshuffle, is said to have helped Moily.

Senior Congress general secretary Janarhan Dwivedi too, seems, to be lobbying hard for the HRD Ministry.

In case Moily gets HRD, the Law Ministry is likely to either go to Parliamentary Affairs/Water Resource Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal or to Minister of State with independent charge of Corporate and Minority Affairs Salman Kurshid. Bansal’s Parliamentary Affairs Ministry could be given to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Ministries of the Congress core group, Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony, P Chidambaram as also of SM Krishna, are unlikely to be touched.

Non-performance and controversies, sources said, had played on both Prime Minister Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s minds when they finalised the list in one-to-one meetings where no one else was allowed.

The Congress chief’s otherwise powerful political secretary Ahmed Patel too, it seems, was kept out of the loop.

Sports Minister MS Gill might face the axe for nonperformance and the CWG controversy.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari’s name is in circulation as a replacement for Gill.