Cabinet reshuffle on cards,hectic consultations on

Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the third time in more than a fortnight.

Hectic consultations are on at the highest levels in the government and UPA on a reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers which is expected to take place early next week.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the third time in more than a fortnight and is understood to have given finishing touches to the restructuring exercise that acquired an urgency in the wake of resignation by Dayanidhi Maran and offer to quit by Corporate Affairs Minister Murli Deora.

There was no official word on what transpired between the two but speculation was rife that the reshuffle could take place as early as Monday evening also.

Meanwhile,Finance Minister and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee met M Karunanidhi in Chennai and is understood to have raised the issue of DMK sending its replacements to Maran and A Raja,who had quit earlier.

Mukherjee is understood to have offered two Cabinet berths to DMK to fill the vacancies but Karunanidhi has reportedly expressed reluctance to accept it,at least for the time being.

Karunandhi has conveyed to the Congress leadership that a decision on it can be taken only at the party’s General Council meeting on July 23-24 in Coimbatore where the DMK is expected to review the political situation in the aftermath of the electoral debacle,including its relations with Congress.

After the meeting,Mukherjee merely said the alliance with DMK would be strengthened and parried a question whether DMK’s replacements in the Cabinet was discussed.

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