Natarajan's breach of protocol irks cabinet

Cab sec asked to inform junior minister that she cannot attend cabinet meetings

GN Bureau | September 6, 2011



Cabinet ministers in the union council are facing the embarrassing task of having to inform environment minister Jayanthi Natarjan that her attendance of the cabinet meeting is a breach of protocol. Natarajan's portfolio is a ministry of state (independent charge). Natarajan has sat through three cabinet meetings in the past one month without having an agenda for a discussion related to her ministry.

A junior minister in the council is not allowed to attend cabinet meetings unles he/she has special permission to make a presentation. Even then, he/she is not allowed to stay after his/her issue has been discussed.

Irked by her presence at these meetings, the cabinet has asked the cabinet secretary Ajit Seth to apprise her of the rules. Ideally, the prime minister's office should have conveyed the matter to her but now it seems like Seth has to be the messenger.

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