New Delhi:
The Prime Minister today said he expects today's major revamp of his cabinet to be the last for his government. Dr Manmohan Singh said that he is disappointed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has again refused to join the cabinet. The PM said Mr Gandhi is preoccupied with "party affairs" ahead of the general elections in 2014.
His new cabinet - which sees a series of promotions for younger Congressmen - is a "mixture of youth and experience," said the PM.
Mr Gandhi has been urged publicly by senior ministers to join the government, failing which they say the party is waiting for him to take on a "larger role." In July this year, Mr Gandhi said that was likely, but said the timing would depend on his two bosses - his mother, Sonia Gandhi, and the Prime Minister.
Sources say he may soon be named the Working President of the Congress.
Today's cabinet reshuffle, which saw 22 ministers being sworn in, is believed to have been carefully designed largely by Mr Gandhi, who was sporting a beard and stood next to the PM and his mother during the national anthem that preceded the oath-taking of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan.