He gets independent charge and a deputy who declares independence

DMK’s angry faces are not alone in the new government. Two other ministers skipped work today. And not because they don’t like the...

DMK’s angry faces are not alone in the new government. Two other ministers skipped work today. And not because they don’t like their portfolio. In fact, these two ministers are vying for the same portfolio. And since he’s senior, Santosh Mohan Dev, Congress MP from Silchar in Assam, has put his foot down.

Named Minister of State (independent charge) for Heavy Industries, Dev does not want a subordinate MoS around. The other MoS nominated for the same portfolio, Mohammed Taslimuddin of RJD, says he is not giving up his claim and will attend office tomorrow.

Sworn-in as MoS with independent charge, Dev said: ‘‘I saw the list early this morning and was surprised to find that there was another MoS with the same portfolio. Now this cannot happen. How can an MoS with independent charge share his portfolio with somebody else? This then doesn’t amount to independent charge.’’

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A worried Dev contacted the Cabinet Secretary this morning and did not attend office. He said the official understood his problem and broadly agreed with his argument.

Asked if he had spoken to anyone in the Congress or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself, Dev replied in the negative. He hoped that the matter would be settled by the Cabinet Secretariat. He assumed they would contact the right people and find a remedy.

At the Heavy Industries ministry, the staff were quite amused. They said their new minister had not come today because a way out of this confusion had not yet been found.

Taslimuddin, Laloo Prasad Yadav’s protege, was either at Bihar Niwas or Hotel Janpath. Like a peeved Santosh Mohan Dev, he too had not attended office today.

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Heavy Industries secretary Naresh Narad apparently had a tough time figuring out who his actual boss was and how many ministers would really run the ministry.

In the company of his adoring fans, Mohammed Taslimuddin wondered why this goof-up was being overplayed: ‘‘There can be two ministers to run this ministry.’’

He said he was not ceding ground and would attend office tomorrow.

‘‘I have been sworn in yesterday with the blessings of both Sonia Gandhi and my mentor Laloo Prasad Yadav. Why should I not accept what they have given me?’’

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What would he do if his portfolio was changed tonight? ‘‘Dekha jayega (we shall see)’’ was his only response.

From Kishenganj on the Bihar-Bengal border, Taslimuddin pointed out: ‘‘Assam is not too far. I have known Dev for a long time. Why should he have any problem accepting me? If there is any particular file he wants, I can always forward it to him. There will be no problem.’’

Dev was obviously not amused. Even at 8 pm, he was waiting for a response from the Cabinet Secretariat.

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