Sibal given charge of Telecom Ministry

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal was today given the additional charge of the Telecom Ministry by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a development that takes the portfolio away from DMK at least for the time being.

Official sources said Sibal will hold the charge of the Ministry held by A Raja, who yesterday resigned facing allegations of scam in 2G spectrum allocation.

The arrangement is seen to be temporary in view of the ongoing Parliament session when issues related to the ministry are to be handled at the senior level, particularly at a time when the ministry is facing allegations of corruption of huge magnitude.

By tradition, a reshuffle of the Council of Ministers is not undertaken during a Parliament session.

Sibal, a renowned lawyer-turned-politician, was a week earlier given the additional charge of Ministries of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, which fell vacant after incumbent Prithviraj Chavan was made Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

In another decision, V Narayansamy, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, was given additional charge of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which also fell vacant after Chavan's departure.