FIRSTPOSTYOUSPEAK FAKING NEWS

Cabinet reshuffle Live: Full list of ministers in UPA II

by Oct 28, 2012

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2:00 pm: Kamal Nath says they will work to get the Opposition on board

“Reforms are for the country and not just for the party…a no confidence motion may come and we will address the issue when it comes,” Kamal Nath, the nation’s new Parliamentary Affairs Minister told Times Now.

He also said he would attempt to get the Opposition parties on board to back the UPA’ s economic policies.

1:35 pm: Full list of ministers

Cabinet Ministers

Vayalar Ravi – Overseas Indian Affairs

Kapil Sibal – Communications & Information Technology

CP Joshi – Road Transport & Highways

Kumari Selja – Social Justice & Empowerment

Pawan Kumar Bansal – Railways

Salman Khursheed – External Affairs

Jairam Ramesh – Rural Development

M. Veerappa Moily – Petroleum & Natural Gas

S. Jaipal Reddy – Science & Technology and Earth Sciences

Kamal Nath – Urban Development & Parliamentary Affairs

K. Rahman Khan- Minority Affairs

Dinsha J. Patel- Mines

Ajay Maken – Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation

MM Pallam Raju – Human Resource Development

Ashwani Kumar – Law & Justice

Harish Rawat- Water Resources

Chandresh Kumari Katoch- Culture

Ministers of State with independent charge

Manish Tewari – Information & Broadcasting

Dr. K. Chiranjeevi – Tourism

Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia – Power

K.H. Muniappa – Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises

Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki – Drinking Water & Sanitation

Sachin Pilot – Corporate Affairs

Jitendra Singh – Youth Affairs & Sports

Ministers of state

Dr. Shashi Tharoor – Human Resource Development

Kodikunnil Suresh – Labour & Employment

Tariq Anwar – Agriculture & Food Processing Industries

KJ Surya Prakash Reddy – Railways

Ranee Narah – Tribal Affairs

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury – Railways

AH Khan Choudhury – Health & Family Welfare

Sarvey Sathyanarayana – Road Transport & Highways

Ninong Ering – Minority Affairs

Deepa Dasmunsi – Urban Development

Porika Balram Naik – Social Justice & Empowerment

Dr.(Smt.) Kruparani Killi – Communications & Information Technology

Lalchand Kataria – Defence

E. Ahamed – External Affairs

D. Purandeswari – Commerce & Industry

Jitin Prasada – Defence & Human Resource Development

Dr. S. Jagathrakshakan – New & Renewable Energy

R.P.N. Singh – Home

K.C. Venugopal – Civil Aviation

Rajeev Shukla – Parliamentary Affairs & Planning.

1:30 pm : Pallam Raju says new ministers will need to live up to expectations

Pallam Raju, one of the big beneficiaries of the cabinet reshuffle has said the reshuffle and particularly the inclusion of multiple ministers from Andhra Pradesh gives reason for them to work harder to strengthen the Congress party in the state.

And what influence did Rahul Gandhi have on the appointment of new ministers?

“His imprint is there, wanted younger people as ministers. It is now up to us to prove ourselves,” Pallam Raju said.

Chiranjeevi meanwhile is expressing his thanks and he’s set to become the next minister for tourism, CNN IBN reports.

1:15 pm: Team Rahul elevated, Khurshid the new Minister for external affairs

It’s official finally. Pallam Raju is the nation’s new Human Resources Development Minister and Ashwani Kumar is the new Law Minister.

Jyotiraditya Scindia is the nation’s new power minister and Sachin Pilot its corporate affairs minister. Quite an elevation this for the young turks who are part of Congress’ Team Rahul.

K Rahman Khan is the new Minority Affairs Minister and Salman Khurshid is the nation’s new external affairs minister.

Veerappa Moily is the new Petroleum Minister. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari is now the Minister for Information and Broadcasting.

12:45 pm: Is Khurshid the best choice for External Affairs Ministry?

Salman Khurshid is now officially set to become the country’s next external affairs minister, taking over from SM Krishna, and as has been pointed out he is the nation’s first Muslim foreign minister.

The Oxford-educated minister, has served as a junior minister in the external affairs ministry under PV Narasimha Rao between 1993 to 1996.

He’s also, as his official profile says, ‘widely travelled’ but little is known about his political stance on various issues.

The official notification is still to arrive though and all the new ministers still don’t know which ministry they’re supposed to head to, reports CNN IBN.

Possibly a lot of traffic jams can be expected in Delhi as the ministers learn where they’re supposed to go.

Ajay Maken’s overjoyed just at being elevated to a ministerial post and is surprisingly the first to tweet. Shashi Tharoor where are thou?

Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. PTI

12:30 pm: PM hopes its the last reshuffle before 2014 polls

Given its the fifth reshuffle in the cabinet since UPA II came to power, its hardly surprising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is already looking forward to them coming to an end.

“Probably this is the last reshuffle,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after the swearing in, reported PTI.

And if he had his way Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi could have been a part of the government. Or is that the polite thing to say?

“I wanted Rahul Gandhi in the government, but he wants to strengthen party,” Singh said.

He also ruled out the possibility of early polls.

“I don’t see early elections. Elections will be held in due course,” he told reporters.

Asked what was the message from today’s exercise, he said it is a combination of youth, experience and relevance of portfolios.

To a question about the proposal to move some people from the government to party, he said: “The party also needs men and women of experience to strengthen it. They will be equally productive in the party.”

12:15 pm: Veerappa Moily new Petroleum Minister, Khurshid becomes Ministry for External Affairs, Pallam Raju new HRD ministry, reports CNN-IBN

Ashwani Kumar is to be the next Law Minister and Salman Khurshid will now become the next External Affairs Minister, says CNN IBN quoting sources.

Veerappa Moily is the new Petroleum Minister taking over from Jaipal Reddy, reports CNN IBN. One of the reasons is believed to be the skirmishes the ministry has had with oil majors like Reliance Industries.

Jaipal Reddy is to become the Minister for Science and Technology.Pallam Raju is to be the next HRD minister and Kapil Sibal is to remain Telecom Minister.

Pawan Bansal is now the Railways Minister. His replacement at the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry is Kamal Nath, says the channel

12:10 pm: Swearing in completed, now to see who gets what

Another Telangana leader Polika Balram Naik takes oath as Minister of State. He had some problem reading his oath but is led through by Pranab Mukherjee. He’s followed by Kruparani Killi, who is also from Andhra Pradesh.

Lalchand Kataira from Rajasthan also takes oath as MoS. He’s the lone Congress loyalist no one has much to say about

And that’s all folks. A lot more regional leaders in ministries in the hope to taking on leaders like Mamata Banerjee. Some new faces, but is this just old wine in old bottles? We’re now awaiting details of which ministry each of these new ministers and what the existing ones will get.

12:00 pm: Mamata opponents get MoS berths

Deepa Dasmunshi, AH Khan Chowdhry and AR Chowdhry, from West Bengal and staunch Mamata-opponents all, are sworn in as Ministers of State.

S Satyanarayana, a leader from Telangana, also finds himself elevated to MoS. Will the Telangana movement be appeased merely by the elevation of leaders?

Ninong Ering from Arunachal Pardesh and Ranee Narah, who is head of Women’s cricket association of India, take oath as Ministers of State.

11:50 am: Manish Tewari becomes MoS with independent charge, return of Abhishek Manu Singhvi?

Manish Tewari takes charge as Minister of State with independent charge. CNN IBN‘s Rajdeep Sardesasi bemoans his elevation wondering if Abhishek Manu Singhvi will return to television debates.

Chiranjeevi takes oath as MoS and its a very undramatic swearing in. Surya Prakash Reddy from his home state, but from the Congress, is also sworn in.

Shashi Tharoor is back! And his wife Sunanda Pushkar busily clicked photos of him while he took oath. He’s still to tweet anything though. Was that one clause for his elevation?

Kodi Kunil Suresh from Kerala and Tariq Anwar, the sole non-Congress MP to become a minister, also takes oath.

11:40 am: Maken, Raju represent Team Rahul in Cabinet?

Ajay Maken goes from Sports Minister to a Cabinet rank and is said to be likely to take over from Ambika Soni as Minister for Information and Broadcasting.

Pallam Raju goes from MoS Defence to a Cabinet Minister and Ashwani Kumar also is elevated. Kumar is set to become the next Law Minister, reported CNN IBN.

Harish Rawat takes over as a Cabinet Minister. Some rewards for his revolt earlier this year in Uttarakhand?

Chandresh Kumari Katoch also takes oath as Cabinet Minister.

11:30 am: K Rehman Khan first to be sworn in, Dinsha Patel follows

Karnataka MP K Rehman Khan sworn in as a Cabinet Minister. He’s set to get Minority Affairs Minister, reports CNN IBN.

Congress leader Dinsha Patel is next to be sworn in.

11:25 am: Young turks get more power?

According to CNN IBN‘s Rajdeep Sardesai, with the new reshuffle the median age of ministers will shift in favour of the young ministers in the cabinet.

But the focus is now on Rashtrapati Bhavan where the swearing in of ministers is set to take place. Rahul Gandhi’s joking with the Vice President and its now certain he’s not going to join the government, just in case you had any doubts.

Maken seems the happiest though and can’t seem to wipe a smile off his face. Shashi Tharoor looks quietly pleased, while Manish Tewari seems to be worried about something. Maybe about his swearing-in speech?

11:10 am: Congress leaders who have been upgraded

Here are the Congress leaders who are getting an upgrade thanks to the cabinet reshuffle, says CNN IBN:

Cabinet Ministers: Ajay Maken, Pallam Raju, Harish Rawat, Dinsha Patel, Ashwani Kumar

Ministers of state: Shashi Tharoor, Kodikunnil Suresh, Tariq Anwar, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury , Sarve Satyanarayana, Ninong Ering, Deepa Dasmunsi, Porika Balram Naik, Dr Smt Kruparani Killi and Lalchand Kataria.

Minister of state with independent charge: Manish Tewari, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Chiranjeevi

11: 00 am: Tharoor leaves for Rashtrapati Bhavan, Scindia says thanks

Shashi Tharoor is back and if there was any doubt, its time for it to be dispelled. He’s already on his way to Rashtrapati Bhavan to be sworn in as a likely Minister of State.

Jyotiraditya Scindia is also likely to be made a Minister for State with independent charge. If he’s unhappy he’s not saying anything.

10:30 am: New Cabinet to be announced in an hour, Pallam Raju

IBN7 reports that the new cabinet is to be announced in the next hour.

The debate on all news channels currently is raging around how much this cabinet reshuffle will benefit the UPA in the long term and the Congress in the upcoming state elections.

CNN IBN now says it has a final list and says the Khurshid will indeed be the next Minister for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor will in turn return as Minister of State, for what yet is not known.

Minister of State Pallam Raju, who reportedly has a big supporter in the form of Rahul Gandhi, could become the next Minister for Human Resources Development.

However, according to the newest political entrant on the block Arvind Kejriwal, it doesn’t matter and not surprisingly his first target is Law Minister Salman Khurshid.

“Why has he been made External Affairs Minister, has he done so well as the Law Minister?” he said.

“It is the UPA and Congress’ internal politics, the country will get nothing from it,” he told CNN IBN.

When asked about the young Congress leaders being elevated gave some hope, a sarcastic Kejriwal said,”What have the young faces of the Congress have done so far?”

10:15 am: Tariq Anwar confirms elevation to MoS, doesn’t know in which ministry yet

NCP’s Tariq Anwar says he’s thankful to the Prime Minister for being made a minister and says he’s “nervous” about his new assignment.

“I have been given MoS. Portfolio hasn’t been decided yet,” he told CNN IBN.

He also confirmed that despite strained ties between the Congress and the NCP in Maharashtra and allegations of corruption against party chief Sharad Pawar, the alliance between the two parties was still strong.

“I am sure that allegations against our party are our baseless…whatever responsibility is given to us we will try to live up to it,” he said.

And he also has high hopes that the cabinet reshuffle will improve the fate of the UPA in the next elections, which he says will take place in the due time.

“I am sure the cabinet reshuffle will give a new message to the country,” he said.

Anwar is reportedly set to become MoS for Agriculture and will work under party chief Sharad Pawar.

10:05 am: No changes in coal, commerce and environment ministries?

Contrary to initial theories that Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal could be shown the door, he’s apparently set to retain his ministry for his defence of Coalgate and despite his comment about old wives. Jayanthi Natrajan is also set to hold onto her portfolio despite complaints against her ministry by corporate India and her opposition to the Finance Minister’s National Investment Board plans.

So says Bloomberg UTV on Twitter, adding that Commerce Minister Anand Sharma is also set to stay exactly where he is. Hopefully he’s not already issued his thank yous to the PM and Sonia Gandhi yet.

9:55 am: The speculation continues

Ok so here’s where the ‘young’ Congress leaders Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia seem to be headed. Bllomberg UTV is quoting unnamed sources to claim that the two Congress leaders could get more important portfolios.

Here’s what they’re saying about other ministers:

9:45 am: Maken thanks the Prime Minister and Sonia

Sports Minister Ajay Maken has jumped the gun and already said his thank yous to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for his promotion, reported CNN IBN.

What he’s thankful for isn’t certain yet and he’s not telling.

Meanwhile here’s what CNBC ‘s Siddharth Zarabi has forecast for the cabinet reshuffle:

9: 30 am: A case of musical chairs in the Cabinet?

Three Cabinet Ministers Ambika Soni (I&B), Mukul Wasnik (Social Justice) and Subodh Kant Sahai (Tourism) and three Ministers of State Agatha Sangma (Rural Development), Mahadev Khandela (Tribal Affairs) and Vincent Pala (Water Resources) resigned yesterday clearing the path for new faces in the cabinet.

While young Congress leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora, Ajay Maken and Sachin Pilot could  be elevated to new ministries, there is as usual a hushed silence over whether Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will take the plunge into the government. Highly unlikely, but with politics its best not to write off anything.

Speculation is also rife that Shashi Tharoor, (our once upon a time MoS External Affairs, whose Twitter feed and IPL plunge, cost him his ministry) could be back in a ministry though as what is rather unclear. We’re watching him closely on Twitter though.

With none of the allies wiling to take ministries: DMK has already refused, and others like SP and BSP prefer to keep an arm’s length from the UPA, all the ministries that are up for grabs will be going to either smaller allies or  Congress leaders.

The announcement is expected sometime this morning though what time is still uncertain.

So who could go where? Here’s a quick list:

Salman Khurshid: Given recent controversies and comments on activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal may result in him being being shunted to the External Affairs Ministry, reports CNN IBN.

Anand Sharma: From Commerce Ministry to External Affairs Ministry, though it isn’t certain. He may be in a fight for it with Law Minister Salman Khurshid.

Ghulam Nabi Azad: To be moved from Health to Petroleum Ministry

S Jaipal Reddy: To be shifted to from Petroleum Ministry Human Resources Development Ministry.

Kapil Sibal: Holds on to Telecom Ministry, gives up Human Resources Development Ministry

Veerappa Moily:  Corporate Affairs Minister who was given Power as additional portfolio after Sushil Kumar Shinde was moved to Home Ministry, might have to shed Power Ministry.

NTR’s daughter D Purandeswari: Minister of State in HRD for the last eight years, could be upgraded and given the Ministry of Commerce portfolio held by Anand Sharma.

Harish Rawat: The Congress leader from Uttarakhand who had revolted against the party’s decision to not make him Chief Minister in Uttarakhand could be elevated to Health Minister

Kamal Nath: Currently is Urban Development Minister and could be given additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs

Pawan Kumar Bansal: PTI says he’s to give up Parliamentary Affairs Ministry and retains Water Resources Ministry. However, CNN IBN says he’s going to become Railways Minister.

Manish Tewari , Congress spokesperson and MP: CNN-IBN reports that he may take over from Ambika Soni as Minister for Information and Broadcasting.

Actor-turned politician Chiranjeevi: The politician who allied with the Congress after forming his own party is expected to be rewarded with the post of Minister for Tourism. The move is also expected to placate the Congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh as they continue to press for the formation of a separate state of Telangana.

Others who could see themselves elevated as ministers: A H Khan Chowdhry, Pradeep Bhattacharya and Deepa Dasmunsi (West Bengal), Tariq Anwar (Maharashtra), Pradeep Balmuchu (Jharkhand), K Rahman Khan (Karnataka) and Pradeep Majhi (Odisha) are also expected to make entries into the cabinet. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has already tendered his resignation on Friday.

with inputs from PTI

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