CPM pulls up socks with cabinet reshuffle

Narayan Biswas,Minister of State for Cottage and Small-Scale Industries has been elevated to cabinet rank and given the portfolio of Animal Resource Development.

Mrinal Banerjee,who was in charge of both labour and power ministry,retains only the latter. Minister of State Anadi Shahu,who was in charge of labour was made the cabinet minister for that portfolio. Sailen Sarker,who had the dual portfolios of environment and parliamentary affairs,has been left with only environment. Rabilal Maitra,who used to look after law will now have the additional charge of parliamentary affairs.

The announcement was made at the end of the two-day party state committee meeting which was attended by,among others,party general secretary Prakash Karat and parliamentarian and Politburo member Sitaram Yechury.

At the meeting,several members became vocal about a reshuffle,especially for departments of those ministers who had dual charges and had been ailing for long. Cases in point were Mrinal Banerjee and Sailen Sarker who had been having serious health problems for quite some time — they had been divested of one portfolio each.

So far as the departments of Suryakanta Mishra were concerned,health and panchayat and rural development,there had always been criticisms that the minister could not handle both departments with elan and there were demands for taking one department from him. According to party insiders,another round of reshuffle is in the offing. While Subhas Chakrabarty,in charge of transport,sports and youth affairs has been unwell for long,Gautam Dev,having charge of housing and public health engineering have also been ailing for long.

The reshuffle is part of the exercise to revamp the state government after the debacle in the recent elections. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is now visiting district headquarters every weekend to meet district officials and take stock of the situation.