Date:06/03/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/03/06/stories/2003030604781100.htm

National

Veerbhadra to be sworn in today

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 5. A 13-member Council of Ministers, headed by Veerbhadra Singh, will be sworn in in Shimla tomorrow. Significantly, the Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Vidya Stokes, has agreed to become a Minister in the new Government.

The list of Ministers to be sworn in was cleared this evening by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. According to Mr. Singh, his Ministry would be a two-tier one and it would be expanded after the budget session of the Assembly. Mr. Singh, who called on Ms. Gandhi here, told newspersons that he would limit the size of his Government to not more than 30 Ministers. He promised to accommodate some of the MLAs who did not make it to the Government as heads of different State corporations.