The top four ministers, handling the finance, home, defence and external affairs portfolios, are unlikely to be disturbed in the proposed reshuffle-cum-expansion of the Union Cabinet expected by July 12.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and home minister P. Chidambaram are perfectly all right, well placed sources said, adding that they are intelligent and have been handling their portfolios effectively. Defence minister A.K. Antony has started taking interest and external affairs minister S.M. Krishna is seen as “efficient and fit for the job”, the sources said.
“But there will be a change in other important ministries,” they said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is assessing the performance of ministers handling such ministries. While corporate affairs minister Murli Deora has already offered to resign, the talk in the corridors of power is that tribal affairs minister Kantilal Bhuria may not be retained after his appointment as Madhya Pradesh Congress chief.
The railway ministry may remain with the Trinamul Congress. Whether Congress ministers from the election-going states of Himachal Pradesh (Virbhadra Singh) and Punjab (M.S. Gill) will be changed is a matter of speculation.
Meanwhile, Mr Deora, 72, on Tuesday said he has offered to resign and sought to dismiss reports that he has asked for the inclusion of his son, Mr Milind Deora, in the council of ministers. “Yes, I have offered to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to step down from the Union council of ministers... have not asked for anything more... it is not a sudden decision,” Mr Deora said.
He, however, clarified that he hasn’t resigned yet and had offered to relinquish charge of the corporate affairs ministry “orally” to Mrs Gandhi a few weeks ago. “I have the satisfaction of completing a full five-year stint as a Union minister and so now I thought it would be appropriate to step down,” he said.