Akhilesh rejigs cabinet, four ministers sworn in

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Thursday effected the third reshuffle in his 17-month-old state government with four ministers being sworn in.

The four ministers administered the oath of office are Narad Rai, Kailash Yadav, Ram Moorti Verma and Gayatri Prasad Prajapati. They were sworn in at a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhawan in the state capital.

Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator from Ballia (Sadar) Narad Rai and Ghazipur legislator Kailash Yadav were sworn in as cabinet ministers while state minister Ram Moorti Verma was promoted as cabinet minister and Gayatri Prasad Prajapati was sworn in as an minister of state with independent charge.

There were strong indications from the SP leaders that independent legislator from Kunda, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya, would also be sworn in again as a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government, but he was not included in the reshuffle.

Raja Bhaiyya had quit in March following allegations of having a role in the murder of deputy superintendent of police Zia-ul-Haq.

With Thursday's expansion, the number of ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav government has gone up to 60.