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No immediate proposal for Cabinet expansion, says PM

There is no proposal at present to expand the Union Cabinet, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said today.

There has been speculation about an impending expansion as many of the Bharatiya Janata Party allies have been demanding Cabinet berths.

The last expansion was done late last year when Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Communications Minister Jagmohan were inducted.

Speaking informally to the media after the investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Vajpayee also said there was no question of reimposing central rule in Bihar in view of the reported change in the Congress stand. When the media persisted with the query, he said, ''Abhi Dekhte Hain'' (let us see).

Vajpayee also said that no date had been fixed yet for the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief to India.

Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, who was also present, said that any decision about the Bihar governor would be taken in consultation with the chief minister. He was answering a question as to whether the Congress would be consulted in this regard.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi refused to answer any questions saying this was not the occasion for such questions.

UNI

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