Maharashtra cabinet to be expanded

The Maharashtra council of ministers will be expanded, possibly on Wednesday, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said in New Delhi on Tuesday.

After a two-hour meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Deshmukh told reporters, "The names of three new ministers will be sent to the governor [S M Krishna] tomorrow."

The ministers will be sworn in at a time suitable to them, he said.

"The issue of appointments to various boards and corporations was also discussed at the meeting," Deshmukh said.

The CM ruled out a cabinet reshuffle and said only new members will be added to the cabinet.

In an apparent move to rein in Deshmukh, Gandhi asked the CM to hold regular consultations with the party before taking key policy decisions.

"It was also decided to hold meeting of the (party-government) co-ordination committee once a month," Deshmukh said, adding the manifesto implementation committee will also meet once in three months.

"Key policy decisions of the government will be discussed in the co-ordination committee meeting," he said.

Deshmukh's visit to Delhi has come at a time when the central leadership is not too happy with some of his statements, including the one on influx of outsiders into Mumbai.