India's coalition row 'resolved'

The DMK says Mrs Gandhi personally intervened

India's Congress party has moved to end a row over portfolios, a powerful ally in the ruling coalition says.

The regional DMK party says Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has given it two of three posts it wants, defusing a stand-off which flared on Monday.

Seven of the party's ministers had refused to take office, saying posts offered were not those promised by Congress which kept all the key seats.

Meanwhile, communists are to provide India's Speaker for the first time.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which supports the government but did not join it, said on Tuesday one of its MPs, Somnath Chatterjee, had accepted the post.

'Sorted'

The DMK says its cabinet ministers will take office on Wednesday.

Earlier, one the party's leaders, Dayanidhi Maran, told reporters the issue over cabinet seats had been resolved after Congress leader Sonia Gandhi intervened directly in the matter.

KEY CABINET MINISTERS Interior: Shivraj Patil Defence: Pranab Mukherjee Foreign: Natwar Singh Finance: P Chidambaram Railways: Laloo Prasad Yadav Agriculture: Sharad Pawar Education: Arjun Singh Commerce: Kamal Nath IT, telecoms: Dayanidhi Maran Pen portraits: Key ministers First day in quotes

"All issues have been resolved. We are very much part of the government," he told reporters, after a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mr Maran, the new IT minister, said the shipping and revenue posts would now go to the DMK, as it had been demanding.

It remains unclear whether the party will also get the personnel and internal security post, which it says it was also promised.

Congress party officials confirmed the dispute had been settled, but did not go into details.

"It has been positively concluded to the satisfaction of all," Congress party spokesman Anand Sharma told the Associated Press.

'Challenge'

The row over ministerial seats cast a shadow over the new government's first full day of business on Monday.

The DMK, from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, said its ministers would not take office until "mistakes" in allotting cabinet posts were put right.

"Portfolios announced went contrary to the assurances," party leader M Karunanidhi said.

Analysts said the flare-up was an indication of the challenges for Mr Singh in holding the coalition together.

The Congress party heads an alliance of nearly 20 centre-left parties in the new government.

Sixty-eight ministers were sworn in on Saturday after a delay caused by last-minute bargaining. Key posts went to Congress Party veterans.