Scindia, Das Munshi

New Delhi, April 1: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is set to shuffle his team of ministers this week.

Two ministers of state, Suresh Pachauri and M.V. Rajashekaran, are likely to put in their papers tomorrow because their tenure as Rajya Sabha MPs ends on April 4 and they have not been re-elected.

Although the Constitution allows a minister to stay in office for six months after their Parliament membership ends, Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi think it will be “highly improper” to allow this, sources said.

Jyotiraditya Scindia and V. Hanumantha Rao of the Congress are expected to be inducted into the government.

Rao is a Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh and chairs the OBC parliamentarians’ forum. The Congress recently appointed another backward caste person, D. Sreenivas, as the Andhra unit chief.

While Scindia is likely to be made a minister of state, Rao is being considered for a cabinet berth.

A vacancy could arise if Priya Ranjan Das Munshi is asked to shed one of his two portfolios: I&B and parliamentary affairs. He was told he would have to give up one after becoming Bengal party chief.

There is speculation that Vayalar Ravi, the overseas affairs minister, could be moved to parliamentary affairs and Rao come in his place.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren has asked to be returned the coal ministry that he gave up after a Delhi court convicted him of murder. Delhi High Court has since acquitted Soren.

Price package

The Congress is not too excited about the package announced to check prices. A general secretary said the decision to slash import duties on crude palm and soya oils was ‘anti-farmer”. “The market will be flooded with these edible oils just when the mustard crop is about to be harvested. The price of mustard seeds will fall drastically.”

Blaming the “price spike” on the jump in steel and cement prices, the party said import duty on these items has to be scrapped.

The Congress was cool to the big raise handed to government staff by the Sixth Pay Commission. “It will increase inflation,” a source said.

The only silver lining is the enhanced tax collections that have funded “the government’s flagship schemes”.