Describing his Council of Ministers as a mixture of experience and energy,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today held out hope for party veterans who could not find a place in the Cabinet,among them Arjun Singh,H R Bhardwaj and Shivraj Patil.
Public service has several avenues where their experience can be used, the Prime Minister told reporters at Rashtrapati Bhavan after another 59 ministers took the oath of office. Although he did not elaborate,Congress sources said pointed out that terms of 10 Governors were set to lapse in July and the Cabinet dropouts could be considered for Raj Bhavan assignments.
The Opposition BJP and UPAs former allies including the Left parties,SP,BSP,LJP and RJD stayed away from the second round of swearing-in. During the May 22 swearing-in ceremony,there was shortage of chairs for guests but today many remained unoccupied in Ashoka Hall Leader of Opposition L K Advani,who attended the first ceremony,was missing today. Ditto for CPMs Sitaram Yechury,RJDs Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJPs Ram Vilas Paswan.
Fourteen Cabinet Ministers,seven Ministers of State (with Independent charge) and 38 Ministers of State took the oath of office today. The total strength of the Council of Ministers is now 79 and,as Singh said,his team was ready to get going.
Asked about no representation for Uttar Pradesh in the Cabinet,Singh said there were several considerations like ability of candidates and availability of talent that played a role. He skirted queries on disinvestment in public sector undertakings,stating that these issues would be tackled by the Finance Minister in the Budget.
We do want the economy to regain momentum and at the same time fiscal prudence will be kept in mind, he said,adding that the governments broad strategy would be obvious in the Presidents Address and the Budget.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi said the entry of young faces was his imprint on the new Council of Ministers. On his reluctance to join the Cabinet,he said he believed in doing one job at a time. I believe in doing one job and doing it well. I dont believe in doing six jobs because I am not in the habit of doing a job if I cant do justice, he said. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi endorsed his decision saying what he is doing is more than just sitting in a Cabinet meeting.
Eleven in the Cabinet opted for solemnly affirm and not swear in the name of god while taking the oath of office and secrecy: Sharad Pawar,A K Antony,P Chidambaram,Sushilkumar Shinde,M Veerappa Moily,S Jaipal Reddy,C P Joshi (all took oath on May 22),M K Azhagiri,Dayanidhi Maran,A Raja and Mallikarjun Kharge. Four of the seven Ministers of State with Independent did likewise Prithviraj Chavan,Sriprakash Jaiswal,Salman Khursheed and Jairam Ramesh. Only five of the 38 MoS followed four from the DMK and M M Pallam Raju. TMC MP Sultan Ahmed took the oath in the name of Allah.
There was applause for the youngest minister in the Council of Ministers,Agatha Sangma,28,who took the oath in Hindi. Most young ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia,Sachin Pilot,R P N Singh,Arun Yadav and Jitin Prasada also chose to take the oath in Hindi.
While TMC ministers were clad in traditional dhoti-kurta and shawl,DMK MP and actor Napoleon turned up in jeans and kurta. Sachin Pilot donned a traditional headgear.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhis son M K Stalin was chatting with Rahul Gandhi who was sitting next to him. Jhansi MP Pradeep Jain touched Sonia Gandhis feet before taking the oath of office. And at the high tea that followed,Shashi Tharoor,appointed MoS,thanked the PM: Manmohanji… It is an honour to work under you.
The final line-up
The wait is over. Twelve days after results,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh finally has a Cabinet.
A list of Cabinet and junior ministers:
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
Home
P Chidambaram
• Ajay Maken
• Mullappally Ramachandran
Finance
Pranab Mukherjee
• Namo Narain Meena
• S S Palanimanickam
Defence
A K Antony
• M M Pallam Raju
External Affairs
S M Krishna
• Preneet Kaur
• Shashi Tharoor
Railways
• E Ahamed
• K H Muniyappa
Agriculture,Food & Civil Supplies,Consumer Affairs
Sharad Pawar
• Prof K V Thomas
Human Resource Development
Kapil Sibal
• D Purandeswari
Information and Broadcasting
Ambika Soni
• Mohan Jatua
• Dr S Jagathrakshakan
Health and Family Welfare
Ghulam Nabi Azad
• Dinesh Trivedi
• S Gandhiselvan
Law and Justice
M Verappa Moily
Road Transport & Highways
Kamal Nath
• Mahadev S Khandela
• R P N Singh
Steel
Virbhadra Singh
• A Sai Prathap
Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises
Vilasrao Deshmukh
• Pratik Prakashbapu Patil
Power
Sushil Kumar Shinde
• Bharatsinh Solanki
New & Renewable Energy
Urban Development
S Jaipal Reddy
• Saugata Ray
Overseas Indian Affairs
Vayalar Ravi
Water Resources
Meira Kumar
• Vincent Pala
Textiles
Dayanidhi Maran
• Panabaka Lakshmi
Communications & Information Technology
A Raja
• Gurudas Kamat
• Sachin Pilot
Commerce & Industry
Anand Sharma
• Jyotiraditya Scindia Petroleum & Natural Gas
Murli Deora
• Jitin Prasad
Labour & Employment
Mallikarjun Kharge
• Harish Rawat
Mines and Doner
B K Handique
Rural Development,panchayati raj
(Additional charge)
C P Joshi
• Sisir Adhikari
• Agatha Sangma
• Pradeep Jain
Panchayati Raj
C P Joshi
Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation
Kumari Selja
Tourism
Kumari Selja
• Sultan Ahmed
Food Processing Industries
Subodh Kant Sahay
Youth Affairs & Sports
M S Gill
• Arun Yadav
Shipping
G K Vasan
• Mukul Roy
Parliamentary Affairs
Pawan Kumar Bansal
• Prithviraj Chavan
Social Justice & Empowerment
Mukul Wasnik
• V Narayanasamy
• D Napoleon
Tribal Affairs
Kantilal Bhuria
• Tusharbhai Chaudhary
Chemicals & Fertilisers
M K Azhagiri
• Srikant Jena
MoS (Independent)
Civil Aviation
Praful Patel
Science and Technology and Earth Sciences
Prithviraj Chavan
*Also MoS in Prime Ministers Office,Ministry of Personnel,Public Grievances and Pensions,and Parliamentary Affairs
Statistics & Programme Implementation,Coal (Additional charge)
Sriprakash Jaiswal
Corporate AffairS,Minority Affairs (Additional charge)
Salman Khursheed
Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Dinsha J Patel
Women & Child Development
Krishna Tirath
Environment & Forests
Jairam Ramesh