NK SINGH
Rajendra Namdeo
was a small time politician in the temple town of Maihar, Madhya Pradesh, until
a few months ago. Then talent spotters of BJP discovered this uncut diamond in
the run up to Maihar assembly by-election.
They promptly set about luring him
to their side with trappings of power – in this case, a cosy government
position with the title of minister of state. Namdeo allowed himself to be
roped in.
At the time of
writing, Namdeo is on the run after Bhopal police registered a molestation case
against him on a complaint filed by an acid attack victim.
BJP dropped him like
hot potato, promptly suspending him from primary membership. So did the Madhya
Pradesh Government. It removed him from the post of vice-chairman of a Board
that it has constituted to promote the art of tailoring.
Thus ended Namdeo’s 18
day tenure as a VIP with Minister of State rank – a notch above chief
secretary, the most senior civil servant in the state, in protocol.
If you think it is
one of a kind affair, you are mistaken. In its eagerness to distribute largesse
among camp followers, BJP government in MP is on a spree to bestow ministerial
status on mass scale.
At the last count, the state boasted of 147 VIPs with
ministerial status! The figure does not include the 32 regular ministers of
Shivraj Singh Chouhan ministry.
A dime a dozen
Time was when ministerial
status brought with it prestige, power and privileges besides rank.
But in
Chouhan regime it has been devalued so much that ministers are virtually a dime
a dozen. “Most of the appointees are people whom no one has even heard of,”
says a senior civil servant.
According to a rough calculation, during the last
four years, the government appointed, on an average, a minister outside the
ministry every 10th day! The joke in political circles is that if you
throw a stone in Bhopal it is bound to hit a person who enjoys ministerial
status.
Most of them have
been appointed to some non-descript government undertaking – like Namdeo’s MP
State Tailoring Art Board.
When announced first in the 2014-15 budget, no one
knew exactly what that board was expected to do. The government also kept it on
a backburner for nearly four years till urban development department
constituted the 5-member board on 30th January this year.
The main protagonist
of the board, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, says it has been constituted for
welfare of Damodar community. Damodars are a community of traditional tailors in
MP.
The board, CM announced last October, would give scholarship to talented
students belonging to Damodar community, help with loans for youths for start
ups and connect them with fashion world to modernize stitching skills.
A Board for hairdressers
It is not only
Tailoring Art Board. The government has formed many similar boards. But the
experience is that it usually starves them both of resources and work. Consequently,
few have even heard their names.
Take for example, a board formed for welfare
of hairdressers, whose chairman, one Nandkishore Verma, enjoys the status of
minister of state. Apart from providing jobs for board members and some officers
and clerical staff, no one knows what this august organisation does.
We have
also the curious case of a ‘minister of state’, whose sole claim to fame is
that he heads an organisation constituted for welfare of government employee.
Most of these ‘ministers’
are treated with such contempt by mandarins of Vallabh Bhavan, the state
secretariat, that they are not even listed in official directories or websites.
At least three of the chairpersons – with ministerial ranks – don’t have even
an office to operate from.
Two others ‘ministers’ have no official vehicles.
They have hired taxis on their own, but their fund starved corporations are not
reimbursing the bills.
Jobs for boys
Finding jobs for
the boys, and the girls, has become an obsession with Chouhan government. A
variety of organisations have sprung up over the past few years.
And in its
wisdom the government has given ministerial status to the small time politicians
heading them. There is a board to promote pottery, an employment generation
board and a board to promote trade, duplicating work of similar government
departments.
One can understand
ministerial status for elected heads of district governments. But ministerial
ranks have been given to persons presiding over all kind of organisations.
A
few examples are unorganised workers’ welfare board, Singhasth committee, haj
committee, cow protection committee, fishermen welfare board, and three
difference public sector organisations for welfare of Baiga, Kol and Bharia
tribes. All of them are headed by ministers.
The largesse is not confined to
chairpersons’ or vice chairpersons’ posts. Five ordinary members of state women’s
commission have been declared ministers of state.
MP government’s
reckless action makes a mockery of the process of conferring ministerial status
on VIPs.
Officers who issue these orders apparently just sign on dotted lines
on any diktat issued from chief minister’s office. They do not observe due
diligence before proclaiming someone a “minister”, as Namdeo episode shows.
Is it
not part of their duty under rules of business, a primer for all civil servants?
Powers That Be, my column in DB Post of 26 February 2018.
nksexpress@gmail.com
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