Cabinet reshuffle this week?

New Delhi: Speculation is rife that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may undertake a reshuffle of his Council of Ministers later this week before he leaves on a three-nation visit this Sunday.




There is no official word so far but talk in Congress circles today is that the exercise may be confined to party representatives in the government.

Singh would be out of the country for a week and would be back in time for the AICC meeting scheduled here on November two.

Diwali falls on November five followed by US President Barack Obama's visit on Nov 7 and 8 and the Parliament session from November nine, leaving little time for the Prime Minister to carry out the exercise after his return from foreign tour.

The Prime Minister himself had talked about the possibility of a reshuffle while talking to Editors last month.

There are a few vacancies in the ministry including one following the resignation of Shashi Tharoor as Minister of State for External Affairs in the wake of IPL controversy.



Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who is holding charge of several departments and ministries, had said after becoming the ICC chief that he would like the Prime Minister to lighten his burden.

There are at least half-a-dozen Union ministers who are holding charge in the AICC also. Prithviraj Chavan, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mukul Wasnik, V Narayan Swami are all party general secretaries while M Veerappa Moily is in-charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh.

A reconstitution of the AICC secretariat is also on the cards following Sonia Gandhi's re-election as the Congress president for the fourth term.

Talk in party circles is that Gandhi, in consultation with the Prime Minister, could utilise the opportunity to make changes in the party and the government.

Source: The Indian Express

PM issues extraordinary appeal on Babri verdict

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has issued an extraordinary appeal.



Splashed across the pages of most newspapers today was a half-page "Appeal" of the Prime Minister to refrain from violence in the aftermath of the impending Babri Masjid verdict by the Allahabad High Court on September 24.

Saying that the judgment needs to be treated with "utmost respect" Manmohan Singh noted that the judgment is only "one step in the judicial process".

"The determination of the issues need not necessarily end with this judgment, unless it is accepted by both the parties. In case any of the parties feels that further judicial consideration is required, there are legal remedies available", he said.




Keeping that in mind, the Prime Minister exhorted all sections "of the people of India to maintain equanimity and tranquillity in the aftermath of the judgement".

"There should be no attempt whatsoever made by any section of the people to provoke any other section or to indulge in any expression of emotion that would hurt the feelings of other people", he warned.



Pleading that any violence of discord would hurt India's quest for "inclusive growth...which is recognised all over the world", Dr Singh said, "Nothing must be said or done and nothing must happen that may cause us to deviate from our goals and our objectives".

Earlier late evening yesterday, the Union Cabinet discussed the issue and passed a resolution, appealing for peace after the judgment."It goes without saying that the judgment needs to be treated with the utmost respect," stated the resolution released to the media by I&B Minister Ambika Soni.



"At the same time, we must remember the fact that the judgment, at this state, is one step in the judicial process. The determination of the issues need not necessarily end with this judgment unless it is accepted by all parties," it said. The government said "in case any of the parties feels that further judicial consideration is required, there are legal remedies available which could be resorted to."

Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband too appealed to people to respect the verdict on the Ayodhya title suit, PTI reported. "We have full confidence in the judicial system of the country. We appeal to people to respect the verdict of the court and maintain peace and communal harmony in the country," Darul Uloom Deoband deputy vice-chancellor Maulana Abdul Khalique Madrasi said.

Source: India Syndicate/agencies