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Ministers of state make their bosses insecure

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Relations between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance have come under severe strain with several cabinet ministers making no secret of their unhappiness over the presence of ministers of state in their ministries. The resentment is only greater where the concerned minister of state belongs to the BJP.

The first to take exception to the pruning of his powers was Union Communications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. While Paswan was happy with his portfolio and had grandiose plans for his ministry, he soon found out that he had to share his powers with his deputy Tapan Sikdar.

"I will not tolerate needless interference in the area of my work and neither will I allow others to encroach upon the tasks which are assigned to my ministry," Paswan is understood have told his followers recently.

However, it was learnt that the prime minister's office had to politely remind Paswan that the distribution of ministerial portfolios was the exclusive preserve of the prime minister.

And as if the injury was not enough, the insult soon followed. Paswan's requests that he be given additional charge of Information Technology were ignored and the ministry went to the prime minister's trusted aide Pramod Mahajan.

The recent expansion of the Union cabinet had several surprises in store for Railways Minister Mamta Banerjee. While she was disappointed when her close aide Ajit Panja was not elevated to the cabinet rank, the real bomb-shell came when Bangaru Laxman of the BJP was appointed as the second minister of state in her ministry.

"What will a second minister of state do in my ministry. Already, the first one has little work to do," Mamta fumed.

People in her party were quick to point out that Bangaru Laxman's appointment was a clear indication that the BJP had little trust in her.

Mamta's impatience for getting result-oriented work done in West Bengal had set tongues wagging in the BJP camp and there was some talk of the need to rein her in.

Another minister who does not share a cosy relationship with his deputy is Union Agricultural Minister Nitish Kumar. Nitish had made no attempts to hide his resentment when he was given the union surface transport portfolio instead of railways, and he is not likely to sit quiet now.

Once again, the fact that his junior minister belongs to the BJP has only made the matters worse.

Kumar, however, can take solace from the fact that his senior party colleagues - Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav and Defence Minister George Fernandes - too have BJP men as their ministers of state.

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