Junior Ministers complain they have little to do…

In New Delhi three days earlier,Scindia had addressed the valedictory ceremony of the Auto Expo. Before that,he had gone to Kerala to launch an online rubber clinic at Puthupally. And days before leaving for Kerala,he was noticed receiving the Bhutan King at the airport.

Going by these schedules,Scindia in UPA II appears to be very different from the minister in UPA I who had stood out among peers because of his innovative measures and zeal in the Communications & IT Ministry.

His story sums up the plight of junior ministers in this government. On paper,they have been assigned considerable work,but in practice,with their Cabinet Ministers giving them no functional autonomy or independence,they are largely seen at photo-ops.

Anand Sharma,for instance,has allocated a number of subjects to Scindia ranging from Women Cell,Official Language,unstarred questions of Parliament “except those relating to policy” to Supply Division including DGS&D,Foreign Trade (WANA),and Foreign Trade (Latin America),among others.

In practice,all that Scindia is expected to do is put up files relating to these subjects to the Cabinet Minister. “In relation to the above subjects,all issues relating to Policy,the Cabinet,Cabinet Committees and Consultative Committees shall be submitted to Minister of Commerce and Industry through Minister of State for Commerce and Industry,” says the official circular.

This holds true for most junior ministers whose primary function appears to be to deliver speeches at seminars and conferences,be present at inaugural functions and at best reply to parliamentary questions. Even in subjects allocated to them,policy making remains the exclusive preserve of the Cabinet Minister,and so do financial powers.

Some Cabinet Ministers like Kapil Sibal and C P Joshi make it a point to invite their deputies to official meetings,but there ends the involvement of these junior ministers in the decision-making process. To most,ministership has come to mean a glorified job description and a beacon light vehicle. Many don’t even get to see the files that are supposed to be put up to Cabinet Ministers via them.

MoS for External Affairs Preneet Kaur,for instance,is said to be a permanent minister-in-waiting as she is mostly deputed to receive foreign dignitaries or be with their spouses. MoS for Chemicals & Fertilisers Srikant Jena spends most of his time in Orissa as his job is limited to preparing answers to parliamentary questions when the House is in session.

Many a time,junior ministers are asked to fill in for seniors. MoS for Railways K H Muniyappa was asked to take the salute at a parade during the RPF investiture ceremony after Mamata Banerjee declined at the last minute. Recently,when no minister showed any enthusiasm to accompany Vice-President Hamid Ansari on a tour of African nations,the responsibility fell on MoS for Labour & Employment Harish Rawat who found the trip more useful than sitting idle.

MoS for Human Resource Development D Purandeswari,who had become the face of her ministry in the absence of the ailing Arjun Singh,has all the time today to campaign for a united Andhra Pradesh. She has been entrusted the adult education bureau which basically handles female literacy mission. With all policy frameworks already in place,Purandeswari does not have to stretch herself any more. Sibal invites her to all meetings of the IIT Council or IIM Directors,Central University Vice-Chancellors,State Education Ministers and Secretaries and Central Advisory Board of Education.

Pradeep Jain,one of the three MoS under C P Joshi,has been entrusted Rural Development. Joshi has allocated Drinking Water to another MoS,Agatha Sangma,from the NCP. But all that they do,said sources,is listen attentively to the minister and bureaucrats at meetings. “I have no complaint. The minister is sending me to an international seminar in Hyderabad on January 21. Then I have been visiting UP and MP,” Jain said when he was asked about his job profile.

Prateek Patil,MoS for Youth Affairs & Sports,is happy inaugurating youth festivals,while MoS for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprise Arun Yadav focuses on consolidating his political base,dining with Dalits.

While most junior ministers complain about neglect in the decision-making process and lack of functional autonomy,some like MoS for Communications & IT Sachin Pilot and MoS for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada have tried to make most of whatever opportunities have come their way.

Pilot has been entrusted with ensuring the quality and penetration of telephone and communication service in border,tribal and rural areas. He is busy implementing an ambitious target of installing 10,000 mobile towers in border areas, remote villages and in Naxal-hit districts where these towers have been the target of Maoists. Recently,the Wharton Business School alumnus used his ministerial position to launch the BSNL wireless broadband service,using WiMAX technology,in his Lok Sabha constituency Ajmer.

Prasada,entrusted with marketing,has gone after the officialdom,questioning why they always lose international bids to the Chinese. Not expecting any role in determining the huge stakes involved in the petroleum sector,he has gone about initiating consumer-friendly moves like prevention of blackmarketing of LPG cylinders,making gas cylinders available at the time desired by clients,et al. Murli Deora relies on him completely to answer both starred and unstarred questions in Parliament.

MoS for Road Transport & Highways R P N Singh has been given charge of Uttar Pradesh and he has come up with a slew of projects for the state. But officials pointed out that nothing in the Ministry moves without Kamal Nath vetting it.

“There is no law that an MoS has to take clearance from the Cabinet Minister. We are sworn in by the President and,therefore,can have different,independent functions. As it is,we are hardly aware of any policy decision. We will have to take it up with the Prime Minister,” said an MoS.