Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday met Congress Ministers in the incumbent Government and discussed issues in details. The meeting saw just three Ministers — Yogendra Sao, Chandrashekhar Dubey and Geetashree Oraon — coming besides PCC chief Sukhdeo Bhagat and Bhavnathpur MlA Anant Pratap Dev attending.
While Rajendra Singh was out of Ranchi Mannan Mallick had some family function to attend. Most baffling was to note that Human Resource Minister Geetashree Oraon, who was in news recently for all the wrong reasons, reached the last to listen from Jairam Ramesh.
However, downplaying the agenda of the meeting State Congress spokesperson Shailesh Sinha said that it was nothing near the hype created in the media. “Jairam Ramesh wanted to discuss some local and national issues with the leaders and wanted to meet them. There is nothing like rapping someone,” said Sinha. Dubey also after the meeting said that nothing substantial took place and it was a formal meeting on party affairs in Jharkhand.
Though internal party sources said that a series of controversies involving Congress Ministers in the Hemant Soren Government also came in for discussion and those had been told to maintain restrain. “Congress is a national party and its image got a dent with recent controversies. Ramesh told the Ministers to work on party line and not to deviate from it,” said a party insider.