By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: Dr Manmohan Singh was sworn in this evening as Prime Minister of India by President Pratibha Patil. Nineteen MPs also took oath as union cabinet ministers of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
Of nineteen cabinet ministers only two – Mamta Banerjee, chief of Trinamool Congress and Sharad Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party supremo – are from UPA allies. DMK chief M Karunanidhi left for Chennai this morning with his team after talks with Congress for cabinet berths failed.
The largest minority community has been given representation in the cabinet in the face of Ghulam Nabi Azad, veteran Congress leader from Jammu and Kashmir. Another Congress leader Salman Khursheed was said to be appointed as new external affairs minister. But as he was not included in today’s cabinet his chance for the ministry looks slim.
Those who were sworn in today as cabinet ministers are as follows: Pranab Mukherjee, Sharad Pawar, A K Antony, P Chidambaram, Mamta Banerjee, S M Krishna, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Shushil Kumar Shinde, Veerappa Moily, S Jaipal Reddy, Kamal Nath, Vayalar Ravi, Meira Kumar, Murli Deora, Kapil Sibal, Ambika Soni, B K Handique, Anand Sharma, C P Joshi.