Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) After the much-awaited cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday surprised everyone by declaring that this was the last rejig before the 2014 polls and stressed that the latest exercise was “balanced” and “in the best interest of the country.”

“As far as I am concerned, this is the last reshuffle before we go to the polls (in 2014). This exercise is as comprehensive as possible,” Manmohan Singh told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony of four cabinet ministers and seven ministers of state at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

However, later when he was asked again whether this would indeed be the last cabinet rejig, he said in a philosophical vein: “In life there is no finality.”

Asked about the central message of the reshuffle, Manmohan Singh said: “It reflects a balance necessary between the states of the union.” “Consideration of the efficiency, of continuity and all elements were taken into account,” he said.

Asked whether he anticipated problems in rejigging his cabinet with some ministers being unhappy, the prime minister said: “There is bound to be some amount of resentment after any reshuffle but we have taken into account the best interest of the country.”

The prime minister, however, added that two ministerial slots have been kept vacant for DMK. “It is part of our coalition dharma… I hope their decision will be coming soon,” he said.

The DMK lost two ministerial berths after the resignation of then telecom minister A. Raja and textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran in the wake of allegations of corruption against them in the allocation of 2G spectrum. The DMK is expected to decide on its ministerial nominees at a meeting July 23.

When asked about shifting Jairam Ramesh from the environment ministry to rural development as a cabinet minister, Manmohan Singh said he has been “given more extensive responsibility.” “His experience will be better utilised in this portfolio,” he said.

Answering a query on why Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was not included in the council of ministers, Manmohan Singh said: “I had requested him several times, but he feels he has more to contribute to the organisation.”

“Farmers are an important group of people. They contribute to agricultural growth,” Manmohan Singh replied when asked about Rahul Gandhi’s four-day padyatra to highlight the issues of farmers affected by the land acquisition policy of the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh.

“It’s an effort on his part to understand the problems of farmers,” he said.