Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi met President Pranab Mukherjee today, separately. According to Congress sources, this could be a precursor to an imminent Cabinet reshuffle.
The prime minister met the President for an hour before he left for Hyderabad on an official visit. The UPA chairperson’s meeting with Mukherjee lasted for about 40 minutes. According to Rashtrapati Bhavan sources, she walked in unaccompanied at 5 pm.
According to sources, the reshuffle is likely to take place on October 19 — a day before the President is slated to leave for West Bengal to attend Durga Puja celebrations at his ancestral home.
“The inauspicious period according to the Hindu almanac concluded yesterday with the onset of the ‘Navratras’, and the timing is just right for something as crucial as the Cabinet reshuffle,” said a Congress leader.
Several ministerial berths have become vacant after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) quit UPA. With the Congress-led UPA facing flak over the past fortnight as activist Arvind Kejriwal carpet-bombed it with charges, involving people ranging from Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Gandhi, to Law Minister Salman Khurshid, the reshuffle might divert attention.
Earlier, there was much speculation about whether Congress scion Rahul Gandhi would be inducted into the Cabinet. Party sources could not confirm about Rahul Gandhi, but they pointed out that he was already taking a bigger role in the organisation.
A senior Cabinet minister told Business Standard that there was no question of removing scandal-hit ministers such as Khurshid. “There is no reason for that. We have deftly dealt with the matter,” he said.
The crucial portfolio of railways, which fell vacant after TMC’s Mukul Roy quit, is held by C P Joshi, minister of road transport and highways. This could be reallocated. So is the case with the power ministry, which is currently under Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily as additional charge.