Joshi too quits, cabinet reshuffle Monday

President Pranab Mukherjee Sunday accepted resignations of cabinet ministers Ajay Maken and C.P. Joshi ahead of expected cabinet reshuffle Monday.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan press release said that the president, on the advice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accepted the resignations of Joshi and Maken. Joshi held the portfolios of road transport and highways and railways, and Maken was the housing and urban poverty alleviation minister.

Sources said the swearing-in of new ministers ceremony will take place at 5.30 p.m. Monday.

Maken resigned Saturday while Joshi resigned from his post Sunday.

Maken, 49, is Congress MP from New Delhi and Joshi is the MP from Bhilwara in Rajasthan. Both are expected to be given organisational responsibilities ahead of assembly elections in Delhi and Rajasthan later this year.

The prime minister had told reporters on his way back from official visit to Japan and Thailand last month that there were some vacancies in the cabinet and "the issue of filling them up is being considered".

P.K. Bansal (railways) and Ashwani Kumar (law) resigned as cabinet ministers last month following controversies related to their portfolios.