Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) Amid talk of a reshuffle of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government doing the rounds, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday indicated that he would soon apply his mind to the task.

“I will apply my mind when I get time,” was his curt response when he was asked by reporters about the possible expansion and reshuffle of his government’s ministers.

With UPA’s largest ally, Trinamool Congress, winning the West Bengal assembly polls earlier this month, the party’s supremo Mamata Banerjee has quit as railway minister and taken over as chief minister of the state that was ruled for 34 years by the Left parties.

With her exiting the UPA government, her party colleague Mukul Roy has been given additional charge as minister of state for railways by the prime minister, who now hold the portfolio.

The buzz in the ruling alliance is that the expansion and reshuffle of the council of ministers would take place within a fortnight ahead of the monsoon session of parliament.

Singh had earlier this year, soon after a minor reshuffle in his council of ministers, stated that “a more expansive” exercise would take place after the budget session that ended in March this year.

There are more vacancies in the council of ministers after communications minister A. Raja, of the DMK, resigned after being accused in the 2G spectrum allocation controversy for which he is now in jail. Minister in the prime minister’s office, Prithviraj Chavan, too moved to become chief minister of Maharashtra.