The Manmohan Singh government’s surprise choice of Meira Kumar as speaker of the Lok Sabha could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Srikant Jena.
The Manmohan Singh government’s surprise choice of Meira Kumar as speaker of the Lok Sabha could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Srikant Jena.
Kumar is currently minister of water resources but will have to quit the government once she is elected speaker on June 3. According to senior government officials, Jena, an MP from Orissa, will either be given an independent charge or may even be promoted to fill the vacancy created by Meira Kumar.
Jena, a four-term MP, has already served as a cabinet minister in the Dewe Gowda government, but much to his embarrassment on Thursday, he was sworn in as a minister of state.
Jena took his oath along with other members of the Manmohan Singh government and was assigned the ministry of fertiliser and chemicals but has so far not taken charge of his office. He reportedly met Ahmad Patel, the political secretary to the Congress president, and has been assured that his issue will be “redressed” soon.
Jena refused to comment on the issue apart from saying that he had brought the issue to the notice of the party’s leadership. “My leaders are aware of the situation and I am sure the oversight will be rectified shortly,” said Jena.
The Congress leadership is also trying to gauge the possible reaction to Jena’s elevation amongst the other MPs from Orissa. Leaders such as former chief minister Hemananda Biswal and Bhakta Charan Das are sore that Jena was the only MP from Orissa to be made a minister.
The Congress leadership is also trying to look for ways of giving representation to Bihar. In the general election, the Congress won two Lok Sabha seats including that of Meira Kumar. The other MP to win was Asrarul Haque from Kishenganj but he is a first-time MP and not experienced enough to become a minister.
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