Ajit Singh sworn-in as minister, gets civil aviation

Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh who was sworn into the Union Cabinet today has been allocated the civil aviation ministry. | Political untouchability not part of Ajit Singh's lexicon

RLD chief Ajit Singh was on Sunday inducted into the Union Cabinet in a bid by Congress to strengthen itself ahead of the UP elections where it has tied up with his party.

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The swearing-in of the 72-year-old Jat leader from western Uttar Pradesh took place a week after his party formally joined the UPA, the first political outfit to do so since the alliance came to power for the second time in May 2009.

The expansion of the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is the third such exercise since the UPA-II came to power.

Ajit Singh, who became the 33rd minister in the Union Cabinet and 77th in the Council of Ministers, has been allocated the civil aviation ministry. On the advise of the Prime Minister, President Pratibha Patil allocated civil aviation ministry to Singh, Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Congress president and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and a number of Union Ministers and party leaders were present when President Pratibha Patil administered the oath of office to Ajit Singh at a brief ceremony in the Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

With RLD joining the ruling coalition, UPA's strength in the Lok Sabha has gone up from 272 to 277.

This is the fourth time Ajit Singh has become a Union minister. Singh was a member of the PV Narasimha Rao-led Congress government. He held the Food portfolio then.