Ministers face wrath of loyalist MLAs

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, MARCH 26.

The Ministers of the Sheila Dikshit Government today faced the wrath of loyalist MLAs at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) who came down heavily on them for "rampant corruption" prevailing in their Departments. Some MLAs went to the extent of seeking a complete review of their performance and a change in portfolios.

Such was the anger among the loyalist MLAs that the Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dikshit, in order to calm them, agreed to convene another CLP tomorrow to sort out their grievances. Interestingly, many of the dissident MLAs stayed away from the meeting and those present did not talk. The DPCC(I) president, Mr. Subhash Chopra, also did not participate in the meeting, which was the first of the Budget session.

As soon as the CLP began, Mr. Shadi Ram got up and lashed out at the Ministers in general for turning a blind eye to the requirements of the MLAs and not giving adequate time to their grievances. He was critical of the Health Minister, Dr. A.K. Walia, for not giving them importance. During the recent recruitment drive in the Health Department not a single person recommended by the MLAs was taken, he said. ``The people, our constituents and close relatives have some expectations.But the Ministers are least bothered. They are not concerned about the rampant corruption in their Departments. This needs to be checked,'' he added.

Another loyalist, Mr. Nasib Singh, is learnt to have stepped up the pressure further. He said officials and the Ministers give virtually no weightage to the MLAs. There were many Departments which failed to spend their budgetary allocations as a result of which the money either lapsed or was utilised by unscrupulous elements. There is need to review the performance of Ministers, he is understood to have stated. At the same time, other Sheila camp MLAs were of the view that the portfolios of the Ministers should be changed.

In fact, during most of the grilling, the Power Minister, Dr. Narendra Nath, the Health Minister, Dr. Walia, the Development Minister, Dr. Yoganand Shastri, and the Social Welfare Minister, Ms. Krishna Tirath, were the focus of the attack. Mr. Raj Kumar Chauhan was critical of Ms. Tirath and said he had written several times an appointment but had not received any reply. ``I have been seeking an appointment from her since June last year but am yet to get a positive response. This is the height of callousness.''

The Chief Minister watched the proceedings with rapt attention and in fact intervened at times to cool things down. Sensing the mood, the Chief Minister announced that another CLP would be held on Tuesday to enable the MLAs to convey their views.

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