Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) Six months of feverish speculation finally ended Tuesday evening, not with a big bang, but with whispers and whimpers. The deck of cards was shuffled adroitly, but there were no big surprises.

The new cabinet ministers predictably beamed and quietly soaked in the glory; the fall guys were either missing or moping in some dark corner.

The rituals played out by the clock. The much-awaited oath-taking ceremony of four cabinet ministers and seven ministers of state started at 5 p.m. sharp in the chandeliered Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the imposing sandstone presidential palace in the heart of Lutyen’s Delhi.

After the red-and-gold uniformed Presidential Body Guards played the national anthem, President Pratibha Patil administered the oath to new ministers, who pledged to discharge their duties without fear or favour.

V. Kishore Chandra Deo, the veteran Congress politician from Andhra Pradesh, was the first one to take the oath in English. When his name was called out, there was much appreciative clapping that showed that a stalwart was finally being given his due.

Each of the new ministers and those who were elevated to the cabinet rank looked upbeat, and bowed to the Big Two - Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - after taking the oath. Charan Das Mahant, the only Congress Lok Sabha member from Chattisgarh, was so moved by his new ministerial role that he even touched the feet of Sonia Gandhi before going back to his seat.

Jairam Ramesh, who hogged headlines as a crusading green minister and has now been entrusted with rural development ministry, sported a grave look, indicating that he will probably miss the thrills of saying ‘No’ to corporate bigwigs and multi-million dollar projects on account of their perceived impact on environment. Unlike the others, the IIT and MIT alumnus made a bow to the ‘Big Two’ from a distance.

Jayanti Natarajan, the new enviornment minister, glowed in a brocaded sari, making eco-friendly noises.

The young ministers exuded the confidence and optimism of those who have finally made it. Jitendra Singh sported a yellow-and-red Rajashthani turban and chose to take oath in Hindi despite his unease with the language. Milind Deora, the jazz-loving two-time MP from south Mumbai, glowed in spotless white kurta pyjama. His father Murli Deora watched proudly as the son took the oath and looked satisified at deftly managing his exit from the ministry with grace.

There were smiles as well as sulks. And some looked distinctly crestfallen as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dashed their hopes by declaring after the reshuffle that this would be the final rejig before the polls. M. Veerappa Moily looked profoundly unhappy as he was ducked questions about whether he saw his shifting from the law ministry to corporate affairs as a promotion. Gurdesh Kamat declined to attend the swearing-in, making public his unhappiness over his assigned portfolio of drinking water and sanitation. He later sent in his resignation letter.

Some looked distinctly relieved at being spared the axe. V. Narayansamy, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, amused many by good-naturedly chanting: ‘Mein Bach Gaya. (I have been saved).”

Amidst the highs and lows of the winners and losers at the function, there was one person who smiled benignly through it all. “I hope you are happy,” is all the enigmatic Sonia Gandhi, dressed in a light-cream sari, would say to fob off intrusive journalists hungering for a sound byte.