He added that he had held a meeting with Union Agricultural Minister Surjit Singh Barnala yesterday and had asked the Central Government to speed up lifting of wheat from the state as there was a shortage of storage space.

He said if the 50.86 lakh metric tonne still lying in the state was not lifted by April, there would be no space to store next year's crop. He added that since August only 11.17 lakh metric tonne of wheat had been lifted.

The Centre has also been asked to consider making the relaxation on milling specifications for rice applicable from September 15. At the moment, the relaxation is applicable from October 27.

He admitted that the present political crisis in the state has diverted attention from the acute financial crisis prevailing in the state and added that ``recent events have taken the centre-stage''.

The resignation of Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal as minister means he is no longer on the committee and no replacement has been announced so far. Mittal, however, added, ``The team has held two sittings and some discussions have taken place. The report presented to us is something prepared from an administrative viewpoint, we will have to keep social and political factors, such as electoral promises, in mind before reaching a decision.''

Commenting on the replacement of those who have resigned from the ministry, Mittal added, ``When those ministers are sworn in, an additional BJP minister will definitely be inducted. We had been unable to decide on a name in time when the ministry was sworn in but the Chief Minister had agreed to include one BJP minister whenever any new ministers were to be sworn in. If the CM decides to expand the ministry, we will also expect an increase in accordance with our strength.''