Sitting idle for 18 months,18 MoS

Mulayam,however,directed them to chief minister,who refused to meet them today.

The SP government has 31 MoS,including seven under the CM. Besides,six MoS hold independent charge.

Soon after the swearing-in ceremony,18 MoS,including Ram Karan Arya,Shahid Manzoor,Kamal Akhter,Yogesh Pratap Singh,Iqbal Mehmood,Mehboob Ali,Manoj Paras,Fareed Mehfooz Kidwai,Chitranjan Swaroop,Tej Narain Pandey,Manoj Pandey,Shankhlal Manjhi,Nitin Agarwal,Vijay Bahadur Pal and Rajeev Kumar Singh,reached party office.

During their meeting with Mulayam,which lasted 30 minutes,the junior ministers openly stated that they were without any work for the past 18 months. “Netaji,it is becoming difficult for us now. Even officials of our department do not listen to us. We are ministers in name only — for a red beacon vehicle and four policemen,” one of the junior ministers said during the meeting.

Another one claimed that district level officials hardly regard him as minister and his letters remain unanswered. “We cannot go and meet any officer due to protocol. No one comes to meet us in our office. We were better off as a legislator,” said another MoS.

Mulayam heard them out but reminded them about the Lok Sabha elections and the possible role that SP can play in the formation of next government at the Centre. While urging them to concentrate on strengthening the party,Mulayam assured them that soon work will be divided among them and their cabinet ministers.

At this some junior ministers even requested that principal secretaries of their departments be called in immediately and orders be issued. However,Mulayam suggested that it should be done with the consent of the cabinet ministers and with the knowledge of chief minister. “You meet Akhilesh. I will tell him to listen to you and take action,” Mulayam said during the meeting.

After Mulayam had made a call to Akhilesh,the ministers went to meet him at his official residence,5 Kalidas Marg. However,CM was busy in some official meeting. The ministers waited for hours and later left without meeting Akhilesh.

The junior ministers had earlier also met Mulayam separately narrating their woes. None of the cabinet ministers in the government has allotted them any serious work. Most of them just sit in their office,meeting visitors and are hardly involved in their department’s working or policy decision.

No file is referred to them for decision.