Soren insists he wants Cabinet reinduction

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi

July 18: JMM chief Shibu Soren is said to be insisting on reinduction into the Cabinet and a ministership for one more MP. Likewise, RLD chief Ajit Singh is believed to be holding out for induction; securing the support of his three MPs may not be a problem for the UPA.

However, strong signals emanating from the JD(S) camp is a cause for worry for the government. The Prime Minister spoke to Mr H.D Deve Gowda on Friday morning following which the latter is meeting Dr Manmohan Singh on Saturday.

JD(S) Parliamentary Party leader M.P. Veerendra Kumar, who had fallen out with Mr Deve Gowda on the issue of the party aligning with the BJP in Karnataka, said in Kozhikode the former Prime Minister had told him the party would vote against the trust motion. Mr Veerendra Kumar said he would be attending the meeting convened by Mr Deve Gowda in New Delhi on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the SP MPs who were absent from the meeting were Ateeq Ahmad and Afzal Ansari( in jails), Saleem Iqbal Shervani (due to a wedding in the family), Usha Verma (bereavement in her family), Raj Babbar and Beni Prasad Verma (suspended from the party), S. Bangarappa and Rasheed Masood. On the other hand, Jai Prakash, Munawwar Hasan and Rajnarayan Budholiya have said they would not support the government.