Tribal ministers’ spar over TRIFED chairman pick

A dispute between two ministers over the choice of Tribal Co-Operative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (<g data-gr-id="25">TRIFED</g>) chairman on Monday put the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a spot.

The federation aims at the socio-economic development of people belonging to the tribal community by marketing their products.

Sources said Mansukh Bhai Vasava, Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, is annoyed with Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram for not keeping him in loop, before selecting Kiran Patel as <g data-gr-id="28">TRIFED</g> chairman.

Expressing his unhappiness to one of his colleagues, Vasava was heard saying that he did not expect such a step-motherly treatment from Oram. “I was not informed that they have shortlisted the <g data-gr-id="27">TRIFED</g> chairman. This is quite unusual,” he was heard telling his colleagues.

When asked why was he not talking about it to Oram, Vasava said he would not discuss it with him, but would instead take it up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He was heard saying: “It was our PM who stressed on transparency and better communication among all ministries. But here within the ministry, people are suppressing information. Being a minister, I should be aware of the developments in the ministry. It is our responsibility to follow the PM’s vision to ensure good governance, but there are people who are not obeying his suggestions.”

According to sources, the PMO is aware of the issue and Vasava is expected to meet Modi soon.