The Hindu Business Line : Cabinet reshuffle likely tomorrow

THE Government is likely to undertake another round of Cabinet reshuffle on Saturday. Indications are that most of the new entrants would be from the Congress, while the former Coal Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Chief, Mr Shibu Soren, is expected to make a comeback as the Coal Minister.

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is also expected to appoint a new Sports Minister, the slot that fell vacant following the death of Mr Sunil Dutt. The names of Mr Suresh Kalmadi and Mr Gurudas Kamat, both from Maharashtra, are making the rounds as the probable Sports Minister.

Other probable new entrants are the former Kerala Chief Minister, Mr A.K. Anthony; the Congress spokesperson, Ms Ambika Soni; the former Orissa Chief Minister, Mr Giridhar Gomang; and the former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Mr Motilal Vora. Sources indicate that the Prime Minister is also likely to correct the regional imbalance arising from the fact that five States currently do not have representation in the Government. They are Kerala, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Of these, Assembly elections are due in Kerala in May next year, along with Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

At present, the UPA Government has 65 ministers — 27 of Cabinet rank, 10 Ministers of State (MoS) with independent charges and 28 MoS — and Dr Singh can have as many as 16 more ministers without violating the existing ceiling on the size of the Government.

The law restricts the size of the Government at the Centre at 81, which is 15 per cent of the strength of the elected members of the Lok Sabha (543).

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