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- by Parinda Bureau, January 28, 2006, 11:16 IST
The much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle-cum- expansion of the Manmohan Singh govt is likely to take place before President A P J Abdul Kalam undertakes his three-nation tour on 31st January.
Informed sources said the exercise would most probably be carried out on 28th January.
The sources said Singh had more or less finalised the nature of the reshuffle in consultation with Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
The Prime Minister had no problems in going for the changes as Ms Gandhi had reconstituted the party apparatus, including the Congress Working Committee, and the Congress Plenary was also over, the sources pointed out.
Seven vacancies, including five in the Cabinet, have arisen following resignations or death of Ministers in the past one year.
At least five Cabinet slots have fallen vacant following the resignations of K Natwar Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Shibu Soren and the deaths of Sunil Dutt and P M Sayeed.
Natwar Singh quit over the Iraqi oil payoffs controversy, while Azad and Soren resigned to take over as Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand respectively.
Further, Jagdish Tytler, who was a Minister of State holding independent charge of the NRI Affairs portfolio, resigned following the Nanavati Commission report on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Minister of State for Water Resources Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav resigned in the wake of an arrest warrant issued against him in a case relating to his alleged involvement in the escape of his brother from police custody.
While Kalam will be on a tour of South Korea, Phillipines and Singapore till 9th February, the Budget session of Parliament is slated to begin on 16th February.
Among the names doing the rounds for possible induction into the 20-month-old UPA government are Ambika Soni, Motilal Vora and Saifuddin Soz are members of the re-constituted CWC), Karan Singh, A K Anthony, Vayalar Ravi and Salman Khurshid.
JMM leader Soren, who could not continue as Jharkhand Chief Minister as he lost his majority, is likely to be reinducted into the Cabinet.
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