Team Manmohan gets four new faces in final cabinet re-shuffle

Member of Parliament from Jhunjhunu constituency in Rajasthan Sisram Ola (85) today took oath as Union cabinet minister along with three others in what is being seen as the last cabinet reshuffle by the UPA government ahead of the 2014 national elections.

Congress leader Oscar Fernandes, Chittorgarh MP Girija Vyas, Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru representative in Lok Sabha KS Rao were also administered oath of secrecy to office as Union cabinet minister by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Two Rajya Sabha Congress MPs EMS Natchiappan (Tamil Nadu) and JD Seelam (Andhra Pradesh) were inducted into the Union cabinet as ministers of states.

Nadurbar Lok Sabha lawmaker from Maharashtra, Manik Rao Gavit, was also administered the oath by Mukherjee along with Hoshiarpur MP Santosh Chowdhury.

Ola has been allotted the labour and employment ministry while Oscar Fernandes took over the reins of surface transport ministry. Vyas became the country’s new housing, urban development and poverty alleviation minister. Rao got the Ministry of Textiles.

Mallikarjun Kharge, who was the Labour Minister, is being shifted to the Ministry of Railways.

Among the ministers of states, Gavit got social justice and empowerment while Chowdhury is the junior minister in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Seelam will assist Finance Minister P Chidambaram as in the finance ministry while Nachiappan will be minister of state in the commerce and industry ministry