Parikh Cabinet swells to 33

GANDHINAGAR, Dec 4: In the second phase of ministerial expansion, 22 more ministers, including six of Cabinet rank and 16 ministers of stat...

GANDHINAGAR, Dec 4: In the second phase of ministerial expansion, 22 more ministers, including six of Cabinet rank and 16 ministers of state, were inducted in the one-month-old Dilip Parikh ministry today.

However, four former ministers owing allegiance to senior minister Atmaram Patel were left out of the expansion, which led to Patel boycotting the ceremony.

Patel, bete noire of RJP leader Shankersinh Vaghela after his brief dalliance with the Congress, said he had warned the Chief Minister at the RJP-Congress co-ordination committee meeting against dropping any of his supporters, but in vain. He said he would take up the issue with the RJP leadership in the next couple of days.

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Out of the 46 ruling Rashtriya Janata Party legislators, as many as 33 have been allotted ministerial berths in the two-tier cabinet.

Governor Krishna Pal Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 22 ministers at a simple ceremony on the Raj Bhavan lawns here this morning. Earlier, 16 ministers, including 11 of Cabinet rank and five ministers of state, had been inducted in the ministry of 38 members. The Vaghela ministry had 34 ministers.

Among the 22 new ministers sworn in this morning, two — Vipul Chaudhary and Vithalbhai Shah — were elevated from the post of minister of state to Cabinet rank, while six deputy ministers in the previous Vaghela ministry were promoted as ministers of state. As promised by the Chief Minister, five Independents have been accommodated.