'Nitish cabinet more serious than RJD's'

There have been as many as 55 cabinet meetings so far during the current financial year which resulted in 1,128 decisions. This was stated by energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav while defending the track record of cabinet coordination department in the debate for approval of its budgetary demand of over Rs 18 crore for 2007-08. The budgetary demand was passed by a voice vote after rejecting the cut-motion introduced by Kishore Kumar Munna (Independent). The minister said that the number of decisions could have been four times more, had not the chief minister increased the financial powers of ministers from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore. Taking a dig at the previous regime, the minister pointed out that cabinet meetings did not take place for three months. He cited eight examples of how the present cabinet had to clear decisions of the RJD rule with a retrospective effect. "Previously, the cabinet meetings used to be held for hardly 10 minutes. In the NDA regime, the cabinet meet extends to over one hour. Yet the opposition calls Nitish Kumar a dictator. How long did it take for Rabri Devi to vacate 1, Anne Marg? Once out of power, the former CM was entitled to occupy it for just 2 months,"said the minister, recalling that Lalu and Rabri had taken six months to vacate the CM's official house. He also taunted the former CM Rabri Devi for breaching the CM's cavalcade twice. The minister, however, conceded lack of officials in the state. "The reputation of the appointing authority, the Bihar Public Service Commission, has come under cloud as its chairpersons and members went to jail,"he remarked, stressing that it will take time to fill up the vacancies. The minister said that he knew that there were officials in the lower ranks who refused to leave their "old ways". "But new officials will come," he said. He stated that previously "transfer and postings"was a big business. "Today, nobody can point a finger at us that transfers have been made after exchange of money,"the minister said. He asked the MLAs to have faith in CM Nitish Kumar who works 13 hours a day. The minister, while assuring the MLAs that corrupt and inefficient officers will be punished, also highlighted the fact that the government had set up the administrative reforms commission. Earlier, MLAs alleged that officials had failed to implement the orders of the government and that "sushasan (good governance)"was becoming a joke. The treasury bench finished its budgetary work in the session by getting the budgetary demands of all other departments passed by voice vote.