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Cabinet expansion shortly, says PM

The long-awaited cabinet expansion will take place shortly, Prime Minister A B Vajpayee said today.

He was addressing a crowded press conference at the Raj Bhavan in Lucknow after a two-day whirlwind tour of the flood-affected areas in Uttar Pradesh.

When a reporter wanted to know whether the new cabinet would accommodate some members from Uttar Pradesh, Vajpayee said: ''I do not want to say anything more on the issue.''

The exercise is unlikely to be undertaken before he leaves for New York on September 22 to attend the UN General Assembly session since President K R Narayanan, who is currently on a four-nation tour, will only return to the capital around 7 pm on September 21.

The expansion has been put off several times because of problems among the coalition partners.

It will be the first expansion of Vajpayee's original two-tier ministry of 42 ministers, including 21 of cabinet rank. Three minister -- R K Kumar, Buta Singh and S R Muthaiah -- have left the ministry during the past six months due to various reasons.

At present few cabinet ministers are overburdened with nobody to assist them.

The prime minister is holding the key portfolios of external affairs, and he is being assisted by Minister of State Vasundhara Raje. Diplomacy is virtually being handed by his trusted lieutenant and deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Jaswant Singh, and Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra.

L K Advani is running a complex ministry like home affairs single-handedly. Previous governments had at least two ministers of state to cope with the gigantic task before the ministry.

Similarly, Sushma Swaraj is looking after both communications and information and broadcasting. She has been holding additional charge of communications ever since Buta Singh's exit.

Other key ministries like defence and commerce are also being run single-handedly.

In Madras, Vaiko, general secretary of the Marumalarchi DMK, which is extending unconditional outside support to the BJP-led government at the Centre, today indicated that the party is likely to join the government.

He told newspersons that the MDMK, which had initially decided not to join the Vajpayee government, had subsequently authorised him and four other senior party leaders to take a decision on the matter if necessary.

Vaiko said even if the party decided to join the government, he himself would not be in the government.

Recalling that the prime minister had invited him to join the government, he said he had declined the offer.

He said his party would continue to extend unqualified support to the Vajpayee government for its full five-year term.

UNI

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