Sachivalaya at a standstill

Gandhinagar, Nov 16: The work in Sachivalaya has come to a standstill as most of the BJP ministers are in Bharuch to campaign for their part...

Gandhinagar, Nov 16: The work in Sachivalaya has come to a standstill as most of the BJP ministers are in Bharuch to campaign for their party candidate contesting the Lok Sabha by-election.

Files have been piling up at ministers’ offices or official bungalows in the ministerial enclave. Senior bureaucrats attached to the ministries are desperately waiting for early return of the `bosses’ to dispose of the files.

And people in general and party workers in particular, who came to Sachivalaya today from far-flung areas with problems, had to return with sad faces. “These ministers do

not deserve to be re-elected if they continue to ignore us like this”, a group of visitors from Saurashtra complained to Express Newsline.

Story continues below this ad

The corridors in the Blocks 1 and 2, housing the ministerial chambers, have been wearing a deserted look since November 11 when Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel finalised the campaign schedule for each minister.

Patel appears concerned about the Bharuch by-poll so much so that he did not convene the weekly Cabinet last Wednesday. And, this Wednesday, too, the Cabinet may not transact usual weekly business in the absence of most of the ministers, a senior official in the Chief Minister’s Office tells Express Newsline.

Patel left for Bharuch this morning and is expected to return either late on Tuesday night or on Wednesday morning. He skipped his Monday Lok Darbar he holds on the ground floor of the Block 1 every week, leaving the task of attending public grievances to Agriculture Minister Nitin Patel.

Besides the Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency, the Chief Minister dispatched some colleagues to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to participate in the campaign for BJP nominees contesting Assembly elections. Gujarat Industries Minister Suresh Mehta, the No 2 in the Cabinet, left for Madhya Pradesh on Sunday night and it is not known yet when he returns and attends office. Another senior minister Ashok Bhatt, who returned here from Madhya Pradesh, left for Bharuch last night. Junior ministers like Kaushik Patel have been camping in Bharuch for the past five days and are not expected to attend office till the polling day on November 25.

Story continues below this ad

Today, only about half-a-dozen ministers, including Finance and Revenue Minister Vajubhai Vala, Narmada Development Minister Jay Narayan Vyas, Social Welfare Minister Fakirbhai Vaghela, Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh and Youth Services and Cultural Affairs Minister Mahendra Trivedi, attended office.