quot;I have done nothing, only claimed TA amp; DAquot;

LUCKNOW, JAN 16: Their flunkeys snigger, call them toothless tigers; their bureaucrats toss their recommendations into the wastepaper bas...

LUCKNOW, JAN 16: Their flunkeys snigger, call them toothless tigers; their bureaucrats toss their recommendations into the wastepaper basket. They want an officer removed on corruption charges, he8217;s promoted the next day. In other words, they don8217;t matter.

They are the 46 Ministers of State in the 90-member Kalyan Singh Cabinet in Uttar Pradesh. While 18 of them belong to the BJP and therefore aren8217;t publicly whining, those of the ally parties have decided enough is enough. It8217;s time to form a 8220;coordination panel8221;, the coalition era8217;s new buzzword, and 8220;fight to grab work.8221; Their main grouse: they took charge as Ministers of State in October, 1997, and seniors in the Cabinet aren8217;t letting them help in the noble art of governance. They wanted Chief Minister Kalyan Singh to call them to meetings twice a monthhe hasn8217;t.

A typical response is that of Vikramajet Maurya of the Loktantrik Congress who is Minister of State for Excise: 8220;I am Minister with a portfolio in which no one listens to me. I have notseen any file and never been consulted before major decisions were made.8221; Not that all this is a surprise.

When they were sworn in, everyone knew why: the BJP wanted the numbers, they wanted their pound of portfolio flesh. Traditionally, the strength of the Council of Ministers is 10 per cent of the total strength of both Houses, which means no more than 55 in UP. The Janata Party, however, in 1977 had 67, V P Singh had 61, Kalyan needed 90. So departments were created such as Flood Control, some were split like the Animal Husbandry department. For the first time, Milk Development was floated as an independent Ministry. Or take the Uttaranchal Development Department. Traditionally, one Minister has been in charge, now there are four.

And there8217;s nothing to do. Kalyan Singh may not be generous with work but when it comes to perks, he hasn8217;t been stingy. These jobless ministers have got them all: blinking red lights atop vehicles, security guards, Government houses, and staff, both at home and office.

Nowork and all pay, so what are they complaining about? No work also means little clout. That hurts, especially when some of them have been MLAs for four terms in a row. When The Indian Express tried to contact the 46 ministers, 30 of them were away from Lucknow, in their constituencies. A few, however, were forthright.

Jantantrik BSP8217;s Shivendra Singh, Minister of State for Rural Development, has a reputation to live up to. His father was a senior minister for many years in the Congress regime and he too has been elected from Maharajganj for four terms. But one look at the chart on the wall of his office in an obscure corner of the Secretariat and you know what he8217;s complaining about. That chart is meant to list work done in his department: it8217;s blank. His reason: 8220;I have not seen a single file concerning the department I have been entrusted with, since I took oath.8221;

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His party colleague Yashwant Singh, Minister of State for Technical Education, is a little more frank. Unlike Shivendra, he spends timewith his 8220;supporters8221; from Mau, his constituency. I can do nothing for them, he says, because I am a 8220;soldier with no weapons8230;.Except for roaming in the official car fitted with a red light and claiming TA amp; DA, I have done nothing since becoming the Minister. When the Principal Cabinet Minister is there, nobody is bothered to consult the Vice Principal Minister of State.8221;

It8217;s up to Amar Mani Tripathi to change things. Loktantrik Congress leader and Minister of State for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, Tripathi is the man who is leading the fight for work. He should know best, for such is the state of his Ministry that the officers he wanted removed on corruption charges, have been promoted! But he8217;s hopeful: 8220;If the Ministers of State continue their fight in a unified manner, they are bound to get their rights back.8221; Following Kalyan Singh8217;s directive not to complain in public, most Cabinet Ministers are quiet. None was available for comment.