PM hints at Mamata, new faces in govt

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today hinted that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Bannerjee might join his cabinet which would soon be e...

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today hinted that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Bannerjee might join his cabinet which would soon be expanded. When pressed to disclose the date for expansion, Vajpayee said in a lighter vein, ‘‘Koi achha sa muhurat dekh kar kareinge. Main saare rahasye kaise khol sakta hoon’’ (Shall do so after choosing an auspicious time. How can I disclose all the secrets).

Vajpayee was talking to mediapersons minutes before he flew back to Delhi after a six-day sojourn here. Members of his family and the National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra accompanied him to Delhi.

The PM said that the country had not initiated the peace process with Pakistan under any compulsion and efforts were on to end cross-border terrorism. ‘‘We are firm on our stand that terrorism should end,’’ he said.

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Apropos the planned cabinet expansion, Vajpayee said that some of his ministers were overloaded and needed to be relieved of the extra load and some new faces would also be added. Asked whether Mamata Bannerjee would be joining the cabinet, he said smilingly, ‘‘Sambhavna to hai’’ (the possibility is there).

In Kolkata, Trinamool Congress circles expressed happiness at the PM’s hint that Mamata may return to the Union cabinet. ‘‘We are happy at the prospect that Mamata rejoins the cabinet’’, senior TC leader and party legislator Saugata Roy said. ‘‘There has been talks of cabinet reshuffle for some time and it was generally known that she might be re-inducted. Now that PM himself had said it, it only reconfirmed what we have been hearing,’’ he said. The West Bengal unit of the BJP also welcomed the PM’s move.