Reshuffle may pass FM by

While it is not certain when the proposed Cabinet reshuffle will take place, one thing is certain: Finance Minister P Chidambaram will not be shifted.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has put off inducting former RBI Governor C Rangarajan into the government, fearing he might find the political demands on the finance ministry hard to handle.

Singh has reportedly told colleagues that he thinks Chidambaram is doing a sterling job in handling the lobbies, interest groups and pressure groups that descend on the finance ministry routinely before the Budget and believes Chidambaram's resoluteness has saved the government from many financial disasters.

"If Chidambaram had not been tough, it would all have come on the prime minister," said an advisor.

However, the prime minister has told confidants that he is unable to do justice to the foreign affairs portfolio and admits he needs a full-time foreign minister.

UP Congress Committee chief Salman Khurshid would have been the prime minister's choice, sources said as after PM Sayeed's death there is no Muslim cabinet minister. But Khurshid is not an MP.

Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar's name was considered but the prime minister is wary of his self-confessed Left wing views.

Moreover, having a career diplomat in the foreign office leads to problems, as the appointment of K Natwar Singh has proved. Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal is keen on the job, but is not considered experienced enough to handle it.

The power ministry is another portfolio for which a serious power tussle is on. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has told the prime minister that he wants his lieutenant and Company Affairs Minister Prem Gupta to be accommodated in the power ministry.

Prem Gupta is currently a minister of state with independent charge, but RJD chief Lalu Prasad says he is happy securing even the junior ministership for his colleague as long as it in the power ministry.

Another problem is when the reshuffle should be scheduled. December 26 was one option, but most leaders are leaving on holiday with their families. The first fortnight of 2006 has been ruled out because it is considered inauspicious.

The Congress plenary is scheduled for January 21 and 22 in Hyderabad and party changes will impinge on appointments to government. This will be followed by the Republic Day and the visit of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. A stream of foreign visitors are to visit Delhi in January and February.

As a political wag quipped: the prime minister knows what to do but cannot decide when to do it.