GUWAHATI, August 19:: Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta today effected the first expansion in his ministry by inducting as many as seven new faces and promoting five others to cabinet rank.The expansion, which has been in the pipeline for several months, came within less than 24 hours of Prime Minister certifying that the overall law & order had improved in the state. Moreover, Mahanta has virtually been cleared of charges by the special court in the multi-crore Letters of Credit scandal.Speaking to reporters soon after the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan here today, Mahanta refused to accept that the expansion was prompted by the court clearing him and the prime minister appreciating his efforts. ``I want to spruce up the administration by taking the load off some of the existing ministers,'' Mahanta said.While three party members of the Legislative Assembly, Hitendra Nath Goswami, Bbinod Gowala and Assembly Deputy Speaker Nurul Hussain were made Cabinet ministers, Aminul Islam, PrabinHazarika, Jagadish Bhuyan and Moidul Islam Bora were appointed ministers of state.Five others, Abdul Jabbar, Utpal Dutta, Ramendra Narayan Kalita, Aakan Rabha and Bubul Das were promoted to Cabinet rank. With this, the strength of the Asom Gana Parishad-led four-party alliance ministry has gone up to 32 from the existing 26.The 27-month old government, has seen many crises. To begin with, the CBI sought permission from the governor to prosecute the CM in the LOC scam, followed by problems of dissident. On May 18 this year, Mahanta shifted Atul Bora from the PWD to Forest, and interchanged portfolios of Higher Education Minister Thaneswar Boro and Secondary and Primary Education Minister Jatin Mali. Boro and Mali refused to accept the changes, following which Mahanta's friend-turned-foe Bhrigu Phukan geared up his dissident activities by siding with the two.While Bora submitted his resignation, Mahanta tactfully dropped Mali. Thaneswar Boro too resigned, with the dissidents projecting him asMahanta's alternative, but the latter soon won him over.
