The Prime Minister also made major changes in portfolios in which Mr Suresh Prabhu has been allocated Power Ministry, which was being held by late PR Kumaramangalam. Mr Sunder Lal Patwa gets the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers vacated by Mr Prabhu and Mr Naidu the Ministry of Rural Development held by Mr Patwa.

While the Council of Ministers was being expanded in the capital, the Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced in Calcutta that she and her Trinamool Congress colleague Minister of State in the External Affairs Ministry Ajit Panja had resigned from the Council of Ministers in protest against the increase in prices of petroleum products.

The Prime Minister, however, later rejected their resignations. A Prime Minister's Office spokesperson said "Prime Minister has rejected their resignations. They are being persuaded to withdraw their resignations."

Mrs Swaraj gets the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which was being looked after Minister of State Arun Jaitley. Mr Jaitley retains the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs. At the level of Ministers of State, an important change has been that of V Dhananjaya Kumar who has been shifted from Finance to Textiles.

All the six ministers inducted on Saturday belong to the BJP and were administered the oath of office and secrecy by the President KR Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhavan at a brief ceremony attended, among others, by the Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues.

According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, the new minister of state, Mr Shripad Yesso Naik has been appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Mr P Radhakrishnan in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sprots.

Mr Satya Brata Mookherjee and Mr Krishnamraju have been appointed Ministers of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Ferlisers and Ministry of External Affairs respectively.

The portfolios of some old ministers of state have also been changed. Mr Syed Shahnawaz Hussain goes to the Ministry of Human Resources and Development and Mr V Dhananjaya Kumar to Ministry of Textiles.

Mr Gingee N Ramachandran will be Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Prof Rita Verma in the Ministry of Rural Development. Mr A Raja and Mr Ramesh Bais will be Ministers of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting respectively.

Mrs Swaraj, it may be noted, has held the same portfolio during her earlier stint as union minister. Mr Prabhu got the Power portfolio as Shiv Sena Supremo Bal Thakray is reported to have exerted a lot of pressure on the Prime Minister that its nominee hould get the important ministry, complaining that the party had not been given its due. The expansion raises the trength of the Council of Ministers to 75. Speaking to newspersons after the swearing in, the Prime Minister ruled out any immediate expansion of his council of ministers. Asked if his was not a big ministry, the Prime Minister said "no, this is not the largest-ever ministry. There have been bigger ministries in the past" adding that never before had such a big coalition been in power.

Asked if he was satisfied with the performance of his government, the Prime Minister said "we have some achievements to our credit. But a lot more needs to be done. It is for the people to judge."

The expansion of council of ministers has been seen by observers as an attempt by the party to expand its base in the non-Hindi States. Five out of the six sworn in are from the non-Hindi belt. An eye has also been kept on assembly elections. Both the BJP members from West Bengal are ministers now.

In fact, according a sources, Mrs Banerjee's resignation is also part of her election strategy. She feels that BJP is trying to strengthen its position in the State and a situation might arise when Trinamool may have to part company with it.

She wants to keep her options open and be ready for a situation in which she may be able to lead a front of secular anti-Left forces for whom BJP is an anathema.