Cabinet reshuffle: New ministers inducted
This is the second such exercise being undertaken by the Prime Minister after the last one in January.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader A K Antony on Tuesday staged a comeback into the Cabinet in the minor expansion of the Union Council of Ministers that also saw induction of yesteryear Kannada hero M H Ambareesh and the return of RJD MP Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav.
The three were administered the oath of office and secrecy at a brief ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and cabinet ministers among others.
With today's induction, the strength of the Union Council of Ministers goes up to 80 with 34 Cabinet Ministers, seven Ministers of State with Independent Charge and 39 Ministers of State.
This is the second such exercise being undertaken by the Prime Minister after the last one in January.
Called 'Mr Clean', 65-year-old Antony, a former Kerala Chief Minister, returns to the Union Cabinet after a gap of over 11 years when he resigned as Civil Supplies Minister in the Narasimha Rao government.
Ambareesh, a third time MP from Mandya in Karnataka, makes a maiden entry into the Union Council of Ministers. He belongs to the dominant Vokkaliga community which has no representation at the Centre now.
Yadav, who quit under controversial circumstances in November last year, is the sole non-Congress entrant in today's exercise.
A confidante of Lalu Prasad, Yadav quit as Minister of State for Water Resources when a non-bailable warrant was issued against him for allegedly aiding the escape of his brother from police custody during the assembly elections in Bihar.
The three were administered the oath of office and secrecy at a brief ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and cabinet ministers among others.
With today's induction, the strength of the Union Council of Ministers goes up to 80 with 34 Cabinet Ministers, seven Ministers of State with Independent Charge and 39 Ministers of State.
This is the second such exercise being undertaken by the Prime Minister after the last one in January.
Called 'Mr Clean', 65-year-old Antony, a former Kerala Chief Minister, returns to the Union Cabinet after a gap of over 11 years when he resigned as Civil Supplies Minister in the Narasimha Rao government.
Ambareesh, a third time MP from Mandya in Karnataka, makes a maiden entry into the Union Council of Ministers. He belongs to the dominant Vokkaliga community which has no representation at the Centre now.
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Yadav, who quit under controversial circumstances in November last year, is the sole non-Congress entrant in today's exercise.
A confidante of Lalu Prasad, Yadav quit as Minister of State for Water Resources when a non-bailable warrant was issued against him for allegedly aiding the escape of his brother from police custody during the assembly elections in Bihar.
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