The Cabinet will consider a proposal to restrict the number of ministers in the central government to 10 per cent of the combined strength of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

According to government sources, the law ministry's proposal will be discussed by the Cabinet on Wednesday and, if accepted, will require an amendment to the Constitution. A Bill to amend the Constitution will be later moved by Law Minister Arun Jaitley.

For political appointments, too, the law ministry has proposed a ceiling of 2 per cent of the strength of the Lower House of the central and state legislatures.

This will mean the National Democratic Alliance government can make only 11 appointments with ministerial rank.

The proposals are based on the recommendations of the Justice M N Venkatachalaiah committee, set up to review the Constitution.

The Cabinet will also discuss a proposal to strengthen the anti-defection law to ensure greater stability of the government.

According to it, even if one member or a group of members quit an alliance or a party after elections, they will lose the membership of the House.

Once the Constitution is amended, Prime Minister  Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be able to add only two ministers to his council of ministers, which at present has 30 Cabinet ministers, seven ministers of state with independent charge, and 39 ministers of state -- a total of 76.

The combined strength of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is 776, and a 10 per cent ceiling will allow Vajpayee to have a maximum of 78 ministers.

In the case of states, the proposal caps the number of ministers at 10 per cent of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.

In states that do not have a Legislative Council, the limit will be 10 per cent of the Legislative Assembly. This will put states with unicameral legislatures at a disadvantage.

Only a handful of states like Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Jammu and Kashmir have both a Vidhan Sabha and a Vidhan Parishad.

In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, there are as many as 64 ministers, which is way above the 10 per cent ceiling proposed. Bihar has 63 ministers from 339 members of the two Houses.