Shinde powered on powerless day
1 Aug 2012 6:36 AM IST
Ending speculations that ran for almost a month, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government got a new finance minister on Tuesday. P Chidambaram was appointed as the new finance minister, who took over the portfolio from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
And, ironically, on a day when about half of India was forced into darkness due to the failure of power grids, the power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was promoted as the home minister. According to a a Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué, Veerappa Moily, the corporate affairs minister, got the additional charge of the power ministry.
Chidambaram comes back as the finance minister after about three and a half years. He had been a strong candidate to occupy the ministry which fell vacant after Pranab Mukherjee chose to enter the presidential race. He had competition from the rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, who was relentlessly lobbying for the post.
The Congress sources say that this small reshuffle is a precursor to a larger one, which is expected to take place after the monsoon session of Parliament ends on 7 September.
And, ironically, on a day when about half of India was forced into darkness due to the failure of power grids, the power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was promoted as the home minister. According to a a Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué, Veerappa Moily, the corporate affairs minister, got the additional charge of the power ministry.
Chidambaram comes back as the finance minister after about three and a half years. He had been a strong candidate to occupy the ministry which fell vacant after Pranab Mukherjee chose to enter the presidential race. He had competition from the rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, who was relentlessly lobbying for the post.
The Congress sources say that this small reshuffle is a precursor to a larger one, which is expected to take place after the monsoon session of Parliament ends on 7 September.
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