Factors like talent considered for deciding Cabinet: Indian PM

New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) Rejecting suggestions that
India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh has been given
inadequate representation in the Cabinet, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi Thursday
said factors like talent have played a crucial role in
deciding on the composition of Council of Ministers.

Singh said his new Council of Ministers is a "mixture
of experience and youthful energy".

"There are several factors like availability of talent
and other considerations that played the role," he told
reporters when asked why Uttar Pradesh, where the party
improved its tally from 10 to 21 seats, was not adequately
represented in the Cabinet.

The Prime Minister was speaking at Rashtrapati Bhavan
after swearing in of 59 ministers. The Cabinet has no one from
Uttar Pradesh from where five MPs have found place as
Ministers of State.

When Gandhi was asked about inadequate representation
to Uttar Pradesh in Council of Ministers, she pointed towards
Rahul Gandhi and said, "Here is the reason. He is refusing to
become a minister. He wants to work for the party."

When asked why there was nobody from UP in the
Cabinet, the Congress President shot back "Isn't MoS enough?
There are two MoS with Independent charge."

To press her argument, she noted that Congress had got
only 21 out of 80 seats in UP.

UP has got only five ministers -- two ministers of
state with independent charge Sriprakash Jaiswal and Salman
Khursheed and three MoS Jitin Prasada and R P N Singh and
Pradeep Jain.

Rahul Gandhi also insisted that UP had been adequately
represented in the Council of Ministers, saying the state
needs fundamental change rather than getting berths in
Cabinet.

On delay in firming up the Council of Ministers, Singh
said, "We wanted to do a thorough exercise, looking at
experience and availability of talent."

When queried why leaders like Arjun Singh and Shivraj
Patil have been dropped, he skirted a direct reply and merely
said, "there are other avenues to use their expertise".

The Prime Minister said the government would spell out
its priorities for the first 100 days in office through the
President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament and
the budget speech of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

On UP, Rahul said it needs a fundamental change as it
continues to lag behind in development. "We have been working
silently, you will see results in three years," he said.

"In my view, UP needs much more fundamental change.
Basically, UP and Bihar are lagging behind and they need
development. The state (UP) has been starved of development,"
he said, adding "We have got lot of work to do in UP and we
are going to do."

In UP, he said "we have to offer the people a
fundamental change. What has been offered to the people in the
state in the last 20 years is bankruptcy. People of UP are
tired of what is going on there."

"Through activities of NSUI and youth congress, we
have learnt a lot of things in Punjab, Gujarat, Puducherry and
some other states," Rahul said.

Asked why he was refusing to join the government,
Rahul said, "I want to work for Congress party because I
believe in doing one thing at a time. I do not believe in
doing six jobs at one time. Then I cannot do justice to it
(ministership)."

He, however, added that his "imprint" was already in
the government in the form of youngsters who have been
inducted.

Rahul rubbished a question as to whether there was a
sense of arrogance in Congress towards its allies as it had
got a big mandate of 206 seats on its own.

"In politics, you cannot have arrogance. I don't think
Congress has arrogance at all," he said.

Asked whether he would be taking some rest after
hectic campaigning, pat came the reply "If you let me." PTI MS
PMR
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