PM won't get deputy, Patil may stay

New Delhi: Scotching rumours about possible elevation of Pranab Mukherjee as a Deputy Prime Minister and an imminent exit of Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has made it clear on Sunday that she is neither in favour of a deputy PM nor inclined to get Patil out of Home.

"Absolutely, there is not going to be a Deputy Prime Minister, I am saying so categorically," the UPA Chairperson told a joint press conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the end of a two-day Congress chief ministers' conclave in Nainital on Sunday.

She also seemed to give benefit of doubt to Shivraj Patil, saying: "There's been no criticism..." When pressed for a more direct answer, she only said: "I do not think this is something I would like to share..."

The Prime Minister, meanwhile, expressed satisfaction with his Home Minister's performance. "I am fully satisfied with the working of the Home Ministry," he said.

Both the leaders said that there will be a new minister in the South Block soon. "You will know it soon," said the PM. It will happen "in due course of time," the UPA chief added.

Over the past fortnight, political circles in Delhi were abuzz with the possible permutation-combination of Manmohan Singh's new picking order soon after the PM dropped hints about a possible Cabinet reshuffle after his return from his Cuba visit.

While political circles and media speculated a possible exit of Home Minister Shivraj Patil from the ministry, others talked of a new deputy PM, with Pranab Mukherjee heading the list of probables.

Media reports suggested that the recent Malegaon episode, in which Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had to face the embarrassment of the local residents’ open ire, had tilted the balance against Patil's continuance at the Home Ministry. Chinese whispers in the political corridors hinted that the Congress high command was looking for a replacement for Patil.

As for the post of external affairs minister, Pranab Mukherjee was tipped as a possible choice with other names like Congress veteran Dr Karan Singh and Maharashtra Governor S M Krishna, Union Ministers Kapil Sibal and Kamal Nath also doing the rounds. Now with the UPA chief putting these rumours at rest, it remains to be seen who will head for South Block after the PM reshuffles his team in the next few weeks.

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