Mamata rehabilitates ministers who resigned in her war on UPA

Trinamool Congress ministers who had resigned from the Union Cabinet to register the party’s protest against the Centre’s reform measures will be appointed advisers to various departments in the Bengal government.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided that Mukul Roy, Dinesh Trivedi, C M Jatua, Saugata Roy, Sisir Adhikari, Sudip Bandhopadhyay and Sultan Ahmed will now work as advisers to the transport, tourism, Sundarban affairs, rural development, commerce, industries and IT, urban development and minority affairs ministries respectively.

“Without any kind of honorarium or car privileges, this de facto ‘super cabinet’ will work as watch dogs and directly under the supervision of the chief minister,” sources in TMC said.  

“A week ago, she (Mamata) told us that we had to assist the state ministers and officers in improving departmental functioning,” said C M Jatua, who will now monitor the Sundarban Affairs Department.

Former railway minister Mukul Roy, who will advise the transport department, met state Transport Minister Madan Mitra at the secretariat here. Welcoming the move, Mitra said Roy had promised all sorts of help to overhaul the department’s functioning.

Sultan Ahmed, former MoS (Tourism) in the UPA government, will now advise the Minority Development Department, which is under the chief minister’s direct supervision. Dinesh
Trivedi, who was forced to step down as the railway minister soon after presenting the railway budget, will monitor the Tourism Department headed by Rachpal Singh.
Sougata Roy will advise the Commerce, Industries and IT Ministry, headed by Partha Chatterjee.

According to party sources, Banerjee is unhappy with the performance of some departments and wants to use the experience and expertise of the senior party members to overhaul the verticals.