4 days ago
Ministers of State sulk as cabinet ministers refuse to delegate authority; at least three of them write to Maharashtra CM
Six months after they were sworn in, Ministers of State (MoS) in Maharashtra are still waiting to be intimated about their duties and responsibilities. At least three out of six MoSes have conveyed their concern to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
In Maharashtra, the council of ministers has six Ministers of State. Among them, three ministers have charge of six departments each while the rest three have charge of five departments each. While Fadnavis has already delegated responsibilities to his MoS, only four other cabinet ministers have followed suit. Rest of the cabinet ministers are yet to officially designate responsibilities to their respective MoS.
Three out of four Ministers of State that The Indian Express spoke to said they have written to CM Fadnavis about non-cooperation from the cabinet ministers regarding handing over of the responsibilities. 'I have not been given the responsibilities officially yet. But that cannot stop me from working. I have been holding meetings and taking briefings from the officials. Ultimately, we have to seek approval from the cabinet minister since it is a higher position,' said one of the MoSes.
Three ministers said they have written letters to CM Fadnavis. 'What else can I do? As far as I know, CM Fadnavis even endorsed our letter and sent it to the cabinet minister concerned. But nothing has moved on it yet,' said another MoS.
Another young MoS said when he saw the distribution of responsibilities offered by his cabinet minister, he refused it at once. 'I don't want to accept such miniscule responsibilities offered to me. I informed the minister and the CM that I am refusing it,' the minister said.
'Why should I answer the questions during legislative session, if no demarcation of my duties has been done despite repeated reminders?' another MoS asked.
In their letter to Fadnavis, the ministers have attached the list of responsibilities delegated to previous ministers of state during 2014-19. 'I understand that the cabinet minister is the ultimate authority when it comes to policy decisions. But being a Minister of State, I am also a part of the protocol. There has to be distribution of responsibilities at the earliest,' said the fourth Minister of State.
