Cabinet reshuffle: Young leaders to be given important portfolios;
Union Minister Ajay Maken on Saturday resigned ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle next week. Maken said that he wants to work for the party. Maken submitted his resignation as Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and has expressed his desire to work for the party, said sources. 49-year-old Maken, a Delhi Congress leader, is expected to be assigned a position in the AICC, most probably as a general secretary.
Sources said Union Minister Jairam Ramesh and CP Joshi may also take up party posts. The stress is on organisational strengthening.
Young leaders are likely to be given important portfolios in the Cabinet. The reshuffle in the Council of Ministers is expected to be the last one in UPA II with Lok Sabha elections less than an year away. The sources said the changes are likely to be effected on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to utilise the opportunity to fill several vacancies in his council of ministers. Manmohan had earlier said that there are some vacancies and the issue of filling them up is being considered. The latest vacancies in the Council of Ministers were created by the resignations of Union Ministers PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar.
Bansal quit as Railways Minister last month in the wake of bribery scandal involving his nephew and a Railway Board member. Kumar resigned as Law Minister following a controversy over vetting of a CBI probe report on coal blocks allocation scam.
The portfolio of Railways has been given to Road and Highways Minister CP Joshi as an additional charge while that of Law has gone to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal as additional ministry.
Under the reshuffle, ministers holding two portfolios could be divested of one. With the DMK and the Trinamool Congress withdrawing support from UPA government within less than a year, a number of slots vacated by them are yet to filled up.
Five ministers of DMK had resigned on March 20 after which there has been no rejig in the Union Council of Ministers. They were holding Minister of State position in Finance, Commerce and Industry, Health and Family Welfare and Social Justice ministries. The only cabinet minister they had was MK Alagiri who was in-charge of Chemical and Fertilisers.
Two cabinet ministers of DMK had resigned earlier - Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja, the latter in connection with the 2G telecom spectrum allocation scam. Some ministers may also be drafted them for organisational works ahead of the next Lok Sabha polls, the sources said.
A reshuffle of the party organisation in the AICC, which is long overdue, is also being firmed up. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also the general secretary of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, could be given fresh responsibilities.
There are indications that AICC general secretary and media department in-charge Janardan Dwivedi may give up the charge of the media, a job he had done for six years. The name of a number of party leaders, including Ambika Soni and Digvijaya Singh, are doing rounds for the post. Some of the incharges of the states are also likely to be reshuffled.
Union Minister Ajay Maken on Saturday resigned ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle next week. Maken said that he wants to work for the party. Maken submitted his resignation as Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and has expressed his desire to work for the party, said sources. 49-year-old Maken, a Delhi Congress leader, is expected to be assigned a position in the AICC, most probably as a general secretary.
Sources said Union Minister Jairam Ramesh and CP Joshi may also take up party posts. The stress is on organisational strengthening.
Young leaders are likely to be given important portfolios in the Cabinet. The reshuffle in the Council of Ministers is expected to be the last one in UPA II with Lok Sabha elections less than an year away. The sources said the changes are likely to be effected on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to utilise the opportunity to fill several vacancies in his council of ministers. Manmohan had earlier said that there are some vacancies and the issue of filling them up is being considered. The latest vacancies in the Council of Ministers were created by the resignations of Union Ministers PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar.
Bansal quit as Railways Minister last month in the wake of bribery scandal involving his nephew and a Railway Board member. Kumar resigned as Law Minister following a controversy over vetting of a CBI probe report on coal blocks allocation scam.
The portfolio of Railways has been given to Road and Highways Minister CP Joshi as an additional charge while that of Law has gone to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal as additional ministry.
Under the reshuffle, ministers holding two portfolios could be divested of one. With the DMK and the Trinamool Congress withdrawing support from UPA government within less than a year, a number of slots vacated by them are yet to filled up.
Five ministers of DMK had resigned on March 20 after which there has been no rejig in the Union Council of Ministers. They were holding Minister of State position in Finance, Commerce and Industry, Health and Family Welfare and Social Justice ministries. The only cabinet minister they had was MK Alagiri who was in-charge of Chemical and Fertilisers.
Two cabinet ministers of DMK had resigned earlier - Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja, the latter in connection with the 2G telecom spectrum allocation scam. Some ministers may also be drafted them for organisational works ahead of the next Lok Sabha polls, the sources said.
A reshuffle of the party organisation in the AICC, which is long overdue, is also being firmed up. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also the general secretary of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, could be given fresh responsibilities.
There are indications that AICC general secretary and media department in-charge Janardan Dwivedi may give up the charge of the media, a job he had done for six years. The name of a number of party leaders, including Ambika Soni and Digvijaya Singh, are doing rounds for the post. Some of the incharges of the states are also likely to be reshuffled.
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