U.P. junior ministers feel slighted

By Our Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW, MAY 17. A new wave of intra-ministerial wrangling appears to be in the offing in Uttar Pradesh with a group of Ministers of State having decided to take their woes to the Chief Minister, Mr. Rajnath Singh. At a meeting held here under the leadership of Mr. Amarmani Tripathi, the junior ministers discussed how they continued to be slighted despite enjoying the status of Ministers in the Government. They would seek the Chief Minister's personal intervention to restore their prestige, Mr. Tripathi said.

He said their complaints that they had no work allotted by the Cabinet Ministers had gone unnoticed.The seniors did all the ministerial work themselves and did not send any files for their approval. This was an intolerable situation as they felt they were Ministers only in name.

As they had no role to play in the decision making process the bureaucrats also ignored them. Even genuine cases taken up by these Ministers did not get a favourable response from officers. Bureaucrats also made attempts to damage their prestige.

Those who attended the meeting felt that the bureaucracy also had its role in the recent decision of the Chief Minister to put a ceiling on the pocket money of Ministers. Obviously the hue and cry raised over Ministers' pocket money was unreal, they say.

The Chief Minister's latest decision seems to have given only a fresh reason for the Ministers of State to revolt. Earlier, too, they had raised their voice against non-allotment of work by their Cabinet Ministers.In a political decision the former Chief Minister, Mr. Kalyan Singh, had attached Ministers of State belonging to various parties to such Cabinet Ministers who also belonged to the same parties. This reduced the resentment to an extent but only temporarily. Now with the term of the Assembly coming to an end the voice of resentment has assumed a higher pitch and the wranglings may be difficult to subside.

This time some Ministers belonging to the BJP have also joined the ranks of dissenters. Today's meeting was attended by ministers belonging to all coalition partners, according to one of the participants.

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Section  : Other States
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