Senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan will take the oath of office and secrecy as a Minister again on Sunday. Some Ministers of State are likely to be elevated to Cabinet rank in a minor reshuffle of the Akhilesh Yadav Ministry in Uttar Pradesh. The function will be held at the Raj Bhavan.
Mr. Khan's fresh swearing-in as Cabinet Minister was necessitated after he erred by taking the oath of secrecy twice and not the oath of office on March 15. According to sources, Mr. Khan returned the facilities provided to him as a Minister on Saturday.
A writ petition was filed in the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Friday seeking a direction to restrain Mr. Khan from functioning as a Minister as he had not taken the oath of office. The court fixed March 20 as the next date of hearing.
The move sent ripples in the Samajwadi Party government. Informed sources said that video footage of the March 15 oath-taking ceremony was seen by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav following which the decision was taken.
Portfolios undecided
Meanwhile, the portfolios of the Ministers were yet to be allocated by the Chief Minister, three days after the formation of the government. The official reason for the delay is not known but sources said that some of the senior Ministers were seeking key departments, which was not to the liking of other aspirants.
The portfolios are likely to be finalised after Sunday's swearing-in.
In a minor administrative reshuffle, Lucknow DIG D.K. Thakur has been transferred to the Police Training College, Chunar. Ashutosh Pandey is the new Lucknow DIG. Chief Executive Officer of Noida Santosh Kumar Dwivedi has been removed and placed on the waiting list.
