Sheila hints at change, names Parliamentary Secretary

With the appointment of senior Congress legislator Mukesh Sharma as the parliamentary secretary and a Cabinet rejig in the offing, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit seems to be gearing for next year's Assembly elections.

Sharma was also appointed as the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) spokesperson ahead of this year's budget session.

The post of parliamentary secretary has remained vacant since Jangpura MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah resigned in March this year.

Senior Congress leaders said Dikshit's decision to appoint Sharma as parliamentary secretary was possibly the first among many other decisions to quell dissent within the party.

Presently, Sharma also holds the post of chairman, Public Undertakings Committee.

Sharma's appointment as the CLP spokesperson had left many loyalists grumbling that a vocal critic had been elevated to a senior position.

Earlier, Sharma had openly opposed not only the CM's move to privatise the power distribution system in Delhi but the trifurication of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as well.

He had also opposed the Delhi government's power tariff hikes.

A Cabinet reshuffle may well follow though Dikshit and senior Cabinet ministers remained tight-lipped.

Asked about it, Dikshit said that change was good for governance. "Sometimes for the better functioning of government, changes are necessary," she said on Tuesday.

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