These ministers are in search of a job

The Vajpayee Government faced a similar problem in March 1998 when, soon after taking oath as MoS for Human Resource and Development, Uma Bharti refused to attend office due to the overbearing attitude of her senior, Murli Manohar Joshi. The matter was resolved after the Prime Minister, in a subsequent reshuffle, gave her independent charge of the ministry.

Barring a few exceptions, almost all Ministers of State are complaining of having no work though few would like to come on record. The reshuffle by the PM a fortnight back has failed to change the situation. In their new ministries, these ministers have been left to handle the insignificant work assigned to their predecessors.

The portfolios of Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, Chaoba Singh, Jaisingrao Gaekwad Patil, Rita Varma, Debendra Pradhan and Hukumdeo were changed after they repeatedly complained to the PM about their Cabinet Minister cornering all prime jobs, making them look redundant.

Yadav, who served as a Cabinet Minister handling two ministries in 1989, feels the only solution would be to scrap the post of MoS altogether. “This will not only remove political tensions and heartburns but also save the precious money spent on MoSs and their bulky staff,” he said. Interestingly, Yadav had no deputy either in the Ministry of Textiles or in the Ministry of Food Processing he handled 10 years back.

Another MoS suggests that the powers of the Cabinet Minister and the respective MoSs be clearly defined on the lines of division of powers between Centre and State. This can be achieved either through Parliament or the Constitution, he said.

Most of the Ministers of State are left to take care of welfare of employees and their families, authentication of papers to be laid in Parliament, sanctioning disciplinary proceedings against Class III and IV employees besides some sundry jobs mainly for Union Territories.

Hukumdeo and Shahnawaz have been promised fresh allocation of work but there are no indications that the promise would ever be fulfilled as the Minister for Culture, Anant Kumar, recently took away charge of the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan from his deputy though it was traditionally held by the latter.

The Cabinet Minister usually handles all policy decisions, service matters of Class I officers and all the significant matters concerning his ministry. “Only those Cabinet Ministers who are not confident of their capabilities and position tend to harass their MoS,” claimed an MoS who is serving his fourth term as MP.

In ministries like Railways, Home, Human Resource Development, Petroleum, Agriculture and Commerce and Industries, which have two MoSs, the situation is worse. MoS (Agriculture) Choaba Singh is, therefore, left handling only food processing while his colleague, S.B.P.K. Satyanarayan Rao, takes care of cooperatives.

Varma, however, blames the rot on bureaucrats who “keep on reminding MoSs of their position, aggravating their complexes”. In view of insignificant jobs handled by the MoSs, the bureaucrats tend to bypass them even in matters being handled by them, sending files directly to Cabinet Ministers. Despite taking the oath of office and secrecy, MoSs are not allowed to go through files which are prepared by clerks and bureaucrats, who don’t have any commitment to the Constitution, claims Yadav.

“In fact, Cabinet Ministers should promote their deputies by letting them face Question Hour in Parliament,” said an MoS, adding that Cabinet Ministers should intervene only when their deputies are in trouble. MoSs appreciate people like P.R. Kumarmangalam, Ram Jethamalani, Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh for encouraging their deputies to face Parliament.