Union cabinet reshuffle - Oscar to become tranport minister?

Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi (SP)

New Delhi, Jun 17: The UPA government has decided to induct new ministers and reshuffle the union ministry. The oath-taking ceremony has been scheduled be held on Monday June 17 evening at Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all likelihood, Oscar Fernandes will be administered oath as a minister, and given charge of surface transport.

The Congress government, which has already obtained the resignations of a few ministers with the aim of roping in their services for organizational works in the run-up to the 2014 general election, may introduce some new and old faces to the union ministry. The present expansion and re-organization of the ministry appears to be the last one before the Lok Sabha election. It is thought that the Congress wants to give a signal through this reshuffle, that it is preparing to face the challenge posed by the BJP, which recently chose its firebrand leader and Hinduta icon, Narendra Modi, as the convener of its election committee.

The Congress has been revamping its organizational network on a continuous basis since Rahul Gandhi took over as one of the vice presidents of the party a few months back.

Ministers Ajay Maken and C P Joshi, who recently resigned from the union cabinet, have been given organizational responsibilities. Maken has been made the chief of the media wing of the party, while Ambika Soni has been made in-charge of Congress president’s office. Madhusudan Mistry has been made in-charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh.  Digvijay Singh has been given the charge of Andhra Pradesh.

There are rumours that the party may reward Mallikarjun Kharge with railway ministry, to compensate for sacrificing his ambition of becoming chief minister of Karnataka. Sources say that Oscar Fernandes will be made surface transport minister.  Girija Vyas, Sis Ram Ola, Meenakshi Natarajan, and Virender Singh, are the other new faces likely to be inducted into the union ministry.

Rajya Sabha member, Oscar Fernandes, was to take part in several programmes in Udupi district on Sunday, but rushed to New Delhi during one such programme, after he received a call, duly cancelling all his engagements for the day. This has given rise to the speculation that he will be one of the new ministers to be sworn in this evening.