Daughter of late Congress leader Jagjivan Ram, 64-year- old Kumar, Congress’ dalit face, had a steady rise in the echelons of power becoming the first woman to occupy the high office of Lok Sabha Speaker.

 Ms.Kumar on Wednesday made history in the Lok Sabha when she was unanimously elected its Speaker and thus became the first woman to occupy one of the high Constitutional posts.

64-year-old Kumar, Congress’ dalit face, a former foreign service official and Union Minister, was elected after a resolution moved by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and seconded by Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee was approved by a voice vote amidst thumping of desks by the entire House 

The career of Ms. Kumar in the rough and tumble of politics began when she quit her cushy IFS job and decided to fight the polls in 1985, a year before her father’s death.

She was elected to Lok Sabha for the first time from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh in 1985, defeating Mayawati and Ram Vilas Paswan.

Ms. Kumar became an MP again in 1996 and in 1998 from Delhi’s Karol Bagh constituency but lost her seat in 1999 when NDA returned to power. She was re-elected in 2004 with a huge margin from Sasaram in Bihar, the constituency of her father.

In between, she had quit Congress for two years from 2000 citing differences with the party leadership. She rejoined the party in 2002.

The soft-spoken Ms. Kumar became a Cabinet minister in the 2004 government of Manmohan Singh. She held the Social Justice and Empowerment portfolio. -PTI

NEW DELHI: Making India a greater attraction for foreign tourists and working for the success of the 2010 Commonwealth Games here, will be the focus of the Tourism Ministry.

“Our preparations are in full swing to make the Commonwealth Games next year a grand success,” Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja told reporters after assuming charge of her Ministry here on Saturday. “We are expecting about one lakh tourists during the Games and steps are under way to cater to their needs,” Ms. Selja said.

The Minister said that owing to the Mumbai terror attack and the global slowdown not many foreigners were visiting India. “We have to launch a vigorous campaign to attract foreign tourists,” she added.

In the North Block headquarters of the Union Home Ministry, Mullappally Ramachandran assumed office as Minister of State. Mr. Ramachandran, a Congress MP from Vadakara in Kerala, was Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Cooperation in the Narasimha Rao Govt.

NEW DELHI: The national executive of the Janata Dal (United), a key ally of the BJP in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition, on Saturday scrutinised the senior coalition partner BJP’s conduct during the general elections and possible reasons behind the electoral debacle.

Though the JD (U), which managed to send 20 newly-elected members to the 15th Lok Sabha, is not toying with the idea of severing its political links with the BJP, it was clear in its two-day national executive meeting that there was a lot of heartburn in the party over the playing up of certain issues by the BJP during the poll campaign. The meeting discussed the dismal performance of the NDA across the country in the Lok Sabha polls.

Introspection and scrutiny, yes, but the national executive did not witness any proposal or demand by any of its members to part ways with the BJP. Briefing journalists after the meeting, JD (U) spokesperson Shivanand Tewari admitted that there were some “irritants” in the party’s relations with the BJP but said there was no talk of a break-up in the alliance.

“There was no talk of breaking our relationship with BJP in the meeting. In Orissa, BJD chief Naveen Patnaik might have had some such problem with BJP but in Bihar no such problem has cropped up,” Mr. Tewari told reporters. However, he said there were some complaints in JD(U) units in a few States against the BJP’s style of functioning.

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress Member of Parliament Meira Kumar has emerged the front runner for Lok Sabha Speaker. If elected, she will be the first woman Speaker of the House.

— A. Maitra/Photo Division and V.V. KRISHNAN

Readying the agenda: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presides over a Cabinet meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, where implementation of a 100-day action plan was discussed. Below is Union Minister Meira Kumar.

The election for the prestigious constitutional post is to be held on June 3.

The decision was taken at a Congress Core Group meeting held at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s residence late on Saturday. A formal announcement is expected in a day or two.

Ms. Kumar, a five-time MP, who won the recent election from Sasaram in Bihar, took charge as Water Resources Minister on Friday. A former Indian Foreign Service officer and daughter of Congress stalwart Babu Jagjiwan Ram, Ms. Kumar will now have to resign as Minister.

Several names, including that of Girija Vyas, MP from Chhittorgarh in Rajasthan and chairperson of the National Commission for Women, were mentioned at the meeting. Sources in the Congress said the party had “made up its mind to put up a woman and the two names were seriously considered.

Senior Congress MP from Andhra Pradesh Kishore Chandra Deo emerged the key contender till recently, but the Congress believes that he will not find support from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Core Group meeting was attended by Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, President Pratibha Patil has appointed senior Congress MP Manikrao Gavit protem Speaker. He will administer the oath to the new MPs and perform duties until a Speaker is elected.

Mr. Gavit is the seniormost member of the Lok Sabha with an experience of 27 years and 8 months. He has been elected from Nandurbar in Maharashtra.

The President also announced a panel comprising Arjun Charan Sethi (BJD), Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M), Biren Singh Engti (Congress) and Sumitra Mahajan (BJP) to administer the oath to the new members.

Cabinet meets

In another development, the Cabinet discussed and approved the President’s address to the joint session scheduled for June 4.

It was the first meeting of the expanded Cabinet, to which Ministers of State holding independent charge were also invited.

Dr. Singh, who presided over the meeting, is understood to have held discussions with his Ministers on implementing the 100-day action plan of the United Progressive Alliance government.

The President’s address is expected to unveil the government’s agenda for the year ahead in tune with the policies and programmes of the ruling party and its allies.

The address is likely to incorporate the government’s focus on the social and infrastructure sectors and place emphasis on strengthening schemes such as the NREGA, and economic policies to be followed in the wake of the global recession and promises to the weaker sections.

PM’s offer to BJP

PTI reports:

Dr. Singh called up senior BJP leader L.K. Advani and is said to have offered the post of Deputy Lok Sabha Speaker to the BJP, party sources said.

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Minister for Local Administration M.K. Stalin with the newly sworn-in Central Ministers (from left): D. Napoleon, S.S. Palanimanickam, Dayanidhi Maran, M.K. Azhagiri, A. Raja, S. Jagathrakshakan and S. Gandhiselvan, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday.

New Delhi: M.K. Azhagiri, A. Raja and Dayanidhi Maran from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and G.K. Vasan from the Congress from Tamil Nadu were among the 14 Cabinet Ministers sworn in on Thursday.

While Mr. Azhagiri was elected from Madurai, Mr. Raja and Mr. Maran were elected from the Nilgiris and Chennai Central constituencies. Mr. Vasan is a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament.

Those inducted as Ministers of State are: S.S. Palanimanickam (Thanjavur), S. Jagathrakshakan (Arakkonam), S. Gandhiselvan (Namakkal) and actor Napoleon (Perambalur).

Mr. Palanimanickam was previously the Minister of State (Finance). Indications are Mr. Azhagiri will be in-charge of Chemicals and Fertilisers; Mr. Raja will handle Information Technology and Communication and Mr. Maran will be Minister for Textiles.

V. Narayanasamy of the Congress, elected from Puducherry, was sworn in as Minister of State.

In a brief interaction with reporters at Tamil Nadu House, Mr. Azhagiri said, “I thank the people of Tamil Nadu, the Chief Minister and the DMK chief (M. Karunanidhi) for giving me an opportunity to serve the people of the State.”

He said, “I will serve the people of this country in general and Tamil Nadu in particular. Madurai will be given preferential treatment, because I am elected from there.”

NEW DELHI: With the southern States accounting for one-third of the new Union Ministers, the recent statement by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi that “North is offering, and South is growing” has seemingly been proved right.

Of the 33 Cabinet-rank Ministers, one-third are from the southern States, though Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and the Union Territory of Puducherry account for only 130 out of 543 members in the Lok Sabha. Some Rajya Sabha members from the south are being inducted too.

Key portfolios such as Defence (A.K. Antony), Home (P. Chidambaram) and External Affairs (S.M. Krishna) have gone to southern representatives.

Of the total of 78 Ministers excluding the Prime Minister, 26 belong to the four southern States and Puducherry. Tamil Nadu tops the list with nine — five with Cabinet rank and four Ministers of State. Kerala follows with six — two with Cabinet rank and four Ministers of State. Andhra Pradesh has six — one with Cabinet rank, one Minister of State with independent charge and four Ministers of State. Karnataka has four — three of Cabinet rank and one Minister of State. Puducherry has one Minister of State.

During Dr. Singh’s earlier term, Tamil Nadu, where the DMK-led allies won all 39 seats, had 13 Ministers, six of them with Cabinet rank. They included two representatives from the Pattali Makkal Katchi, an ally then. After the resignation of Dayanidhi Maran (DMK) as Cabinet Minister, Radhika Selvi (DMK) went in as a Minister of State.

Kerala’s strength has doubled to six although the number of Cabinet rank positions remains the same. This time the number of Ministers of State has gone up to four, from one last time.

In Karnataka, the situation has improved: the figure touches four compared to three last time. There were only three Ministers of State (later Minister M.H. Ambareesh resigned over the Cauvery water row) last time, but now there are three Cabinet Ministers (Mr. Krishna, M. Veerappa Moily and Mallikarjun Kharge) and one MoS (K.H. Muniappa).

Disappointment

MPs from Andhra Pradesh say their State has been left without adequate representation. S. Jaipal Reddy is the only Cabinet Minister. There are one MoS with independent charge (Jairam Ramesh) and four Ministers of State (D. Purandeswari, Panabaka Lakshmi, A. Sai Prathap and M.M. Pallam Raju). Last time, when the Telangana Rashtra Samithi was in alliance with the Congress, the United Progressive Alliance’s strength from Andhra Pradesh was 34 (Congress 29, TRS five) and the State accounted for eight Ministers (two of Cabinet rank, one MoS with independent charge and five Ministers of State. This included two TRS representatives, one of them with Cabinet rank. This time the Congress in Andhra Pradesh returned 33 MPs out of the total 42, but got an inadequate share in the Cabinet, some Congress members feel.

“Some of those who are inside can make way for others,” Ms. Gandhi said after the swearing-in of Ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. She was responding to a question whether the Congress was ruling out any reshuffle and change, now that most of the members had been sworn in in one go.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, at a recent meeting of the Congress MPs, said people expected a more efficient government and “business as usual” would not do. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Kapil Sibal will be the new Human Resource Development Minister and M. Veerappa Moily will be in charge of Law, while Ambika Soni will move to the Information & Broadcasting Ministry in the new governance arrangement unveiled here on Thursday night.

While Murli Deora, A. Raja and Sushil Kumar Shinde get to keep their earlier Ministries — Petroleum & Natural Gas, Communications & Information Technology, and Power — Vilasrao Deshmukh has been given Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises and Ghulam Nabi Azad, Health & Family Welfare.

— Photo: AP

young & old: Agatha Sangma (28), the youngest member of the Council of Ministers, greets senior leaders after she was sworn in Minister of State, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. The oldest member of the Manmohan Singh team is External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who is 77.

Kamal Nath has been moved out of Commerce & Industry to Road Transport and Highways, and Anand Sharma brought in in his place. Farooq Abdullah gets New and Renewable Energy, while S. Jaipal Reddy and Vayalar Ravi retain their old portfolios. C.P. Joshi will be the new Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, while Mallikarjun Kharge gets Labour and Employment.

M.K. Azhagiri will preside over Chemicals and Fertilizers and P.K. Bansal will be the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Mukul Wasnik gets Social Justice and Empowerment in place of Meira Kumar, who moves to the Ministry of Water Resources.

Among the Ministers of State with independent charge, Salman Khursheed gets Corporate Affairs and Minority Affairs. Prithviraj Chavan, curiously enough, will be MoS (Independent charge) for Earth Sciences and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Personnel. Jairam Ramesh will be MoS (Independent charge) for Environment and Forests while Krishna Tirath will handle Women and Child Development.

Shashi Tharoor will be a Minister of State for External Affairs along with Preneet Kaur, while young Agatha Sangma will be in the Rural Development Ministry. Ajay Maken will be a Minister of State for Home.

Earlier in the day, 59 new ministers were sworn in by President Pratibha Patil. In a brief interaction with the media, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s explanation for the delay in Ministry formation was that “it was a thorough exercise.” He described the Council of Ministers as a “mix of experience and youthful energy.” About non-inclusion of senior Congressmen such as Shivraj Patil, Arjun Singh, H.R. Bhardwaj and Saifuddin Soz, he said there were other avenues of public service where their experience and wisdom could be used.

As to why there was no representation for Uttar Pradesh in the Cabinet, Dr. Singh said there were several considerations while making the selection and cited availability of talent as one of them. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul went a step further and maintained that the State was adequately represented in the Ministry. “Isn’t Minister of State (MoS) enough? There are two with independent charge, besides three Ministers of State,” she said.

When it was pointed out that the State had not got even one Cabinet rank Minister, Ms. Gandhi quipped, pointing to her son: “Here is the reason. He is refusing to become a Minister. He wants to work for the party.” Asked whether she would have liked him to join the Ministry, her answer was: “I left it to him; it was his decision.”

For his part, Mr. Rahul Gandhi maintained that he was not the kind of person who can multi-task. “Others may be able to do several jobs at a time, but I prefer to do one job at a time and do it well.”

Lamenting the way U.P. and Bihar were lagging behind, he said a more fundamental change had to be offered to the people. “The people of U.P. have got only caste and religion-based politics in the past 20 years. They have to be given something that holds out hope. We have been working silently on this front for the past five years. You will see results in three years.”

With Ms. Gandhi dwelling on democratisation of the Youth Congress, she was asked whether she would try to replicate the “successful” experiment in the Congress. Her answer was a non-committal “They have started a process; let us see.” Responding to the charge that the Congress was being arrogant and using its numbers to dictate terms to allies, Mr. Rahul Gandhi shot back: “Sticking to principles does not mean we are being arrogant.” And, though he opted out of the Ministry, his ‘imprint’ is in the government in the form of youngsters who have got a share of the governance pie.

With Thursday’s induction of 59 Ministers, the strength of the Manmohan Singh team goes up to 79, just three short of the constitutional cap of 82.

                             Click here: How India Voted: Elections 2009