Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday informed the Raj Bhavan that he would expand his three-member cabinet on October 8.
In a fax message to the Raj Bhavan from Delhi, Munda said he would give a list of ministers on October 7 and the swearing-in ceremony could be held the next day, Raj Bhavan sources here said.
Munda, along with Sudesh Mahto and Hemant Soren who were made deputy chief ministers, took the oath on September 11. Munda who is now in Delhi, could have a maximum of twelve ministers in his cabinet.
Meanwhile, delegations of the Congress and the JVM (P) separately met Governor M O H Farook and sought his intervention because of the delay in the expansion of Munda
ministry citing violation of Article 164 (1A).
The Congress memorandum cited how former governor Ved Marwah had once returned Munda's list of ministers for swearing-in as it 'fell short of twelve ministers'. Demanding a direction to Munda to expand his ministry at the earliest, the JVM-P alleged that development work in the state had come to a halt since the Munda coalition staked
claim on September 9.
The JVM-P also demanded that Jharkhand, which has been declared drought hit, be declared famine-hit following two successive years of drought.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 19:15