PM Narendra Modi all set to expand his ministerial team on Sunday

NEW DELHI: The much-anticipated expansion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s council of ministers is likely to be held on Sunday afternoon, with Manohar Parrikar seen exiting his role as Goa chief minister and moving to New Delhi as part of this exercise, tipped to take over as defence minister.

Top sources confirmed that he along with at least a dozen others, including a member each of the Shiv Sena and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), will be inducted at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan, which is likely to be held indoors at the Durbar Hall, the traditional venue for such events. The Modi government’s inauguration in May had been held outdoors. BJP sources confirmed that the expansion will involve senior faces from the party and a few first timers in the role of junior ministers.

“The initial idea was to keep the government lean. The prime minister then assessed the way this Cabinet worked and when he perceived a gap, he decided to bridge it with an expansion. The idea is not to punish anybody, but to bridge gaps,” said the one of those cited above. Recent developments may also lead to the establishment of a new department. “Several legal challenges recently have also necessitated the expansion. For example, the cancellation of coal blocks and the need to come up with a new allocation policy means that, in all likelihood, a ministry for natural resources may be set up with someone like Suresh Prabhu at the helm,” said a party member.

“Also, the prime minister is keen that with 49% FDI (foreign direct investment) allowed in defence manufacturing, it should be the cornerstone of the ‘Make in India’ programme. Someone like Manohar Parrikar has been brought in for this purpose,” the source added. “There was always going to be an expansion this year.

It pertains to the prime minister’s style that he would wait, watch and assess and then take a call on whether or not he wants a bigger Cabinet. Even in the case of bureaucrats, the same wait-and-watch attitude has prevailed,” said the source. Except for Parrikar, the Shiv Sena and the TDP, the rest have been tight lipped about details.