Cabinet expansion on Saturday

The Union Council of Ministers will be expanded at 1500 IST, Saturday, a Rashtrapati Bhawan spokesman announced in New Delhi on Friday night.

The ceremony will be held at Rashtrapati Bhawan's Ashoka Hall, the spokesman said.

There is speculation that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Sibu Soren, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday evening, is likely to be re-inducted as coal minister. Soren had resigned after a Jharkhand court issued an arrest warrant against him in a 20-year old murder case. He is out on bail now.

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Another possible entrant is Ramdas Atwale, belonging to Republican Party of India, as a minister of state

Telengana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who also met the PM, is speculated to get the labour portfolio.

All the three leaders were present when the United Progressive Alliance coordination committee met on Friday ahead of the winter session of Parliament.

At the committee meeting it was decided to set up a subcommittee on the issue of a separate Telengana state.

UPA chairwoman Sonia Gandhi presided over the meeting, attended by Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh, Sharad Pawar (Nationalist Congress Party), Ramvilas Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party), C Rajeshwar Rao (TRS), Mehbooba Mufti (People's Democratic Party) and Lalu Prasad (Rashtriya Janata Dal).

The UPA will also bring forward in the winter session a bill to provide 100 days of employment in rural areas, Chidambaram said after the meeting.

It was also decided to ascertain the "final views of all political parties" on the Women's Reservation Bill, he said.

The FM said that the issue of rollback of hike in petrol and diesel prices was not raised.

The National Employment Guarantee programme, outlined in the UPA's common minimum programme, envisages 100 days of employment to one member of each family in rural areas through food-for-work and similar programmes.

In addition, about 20 important legislations will be introduced in Parliament, including the Patents (Amendment) Bill.

The Lok Pal Bill is not in the priority list, the minister said in reply to a question.

The minister said that the government side briefed the committee on the decisions taken in respect of the agenda set by the CMP.

"Broadly, the coordination committee expressed satisfaction on the number of items implemented in the short span of six months," he said.