The ministers sit in a group at the janata durbar on Monday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Some ministers on Monday expressed disappointment with the new seating order at chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s janata durbar — next to him and away from their secretaries.

Manjhi introduced the new arrangement on October 13. Monday’s was the third janata durbar since then because of holidays in between. Since different ministers turn up for the janata durbar on different Mondays of the month, it was the first time some ministers were exposed to the new order, except for labour resources minister Dulalchand Goswami who was there on October 13 too.

When Nitish was chief minister, he used to sit alone while the ministers sat with their secretaries. After looking at a petitioner’s grievance, Nitish would guide him or her to the relevant minister.

Manjhi changed all that. Now, ministers sit next to him. But he alone looks at the petitions and sends the complainants to the relevant secretaries. The complainants do not get a chance to talk to the minister concerned, though he or she sits right next to Manjhi.

When Manjhi introduced this system last month, education minister Brishen Patel had praised it saying the chief minister was treating ministers as his equals. On Monday, most ministers said the earlier set-up was better. Dulalchand Goswami, being a first-time minister, refused comment.

Transport minister Ramai Ram said: “It is not a good arrangement and I will request the chief minister to return to the old set-up. We are totally alienated from the people who come in the hope of meeting the minister. This new set-up will damage our reputation. It looks anti-people.”

Another minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. I enjoy meeting the people and giving them relief but the new set-up is not effective. Visitors are left at the bureaucrats’ mercy. I don’t know how they would be dealing with them. It is so embarrassing when people come from so far and you are there but cannot meet them.”

Water resources minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said: “The new set-up has restricted us from meeting people.”

As in the past few Mondays, the ministers — except for Dulalchand who was familiar with the new set-up — first began moving towards their earlier place.

In fact, sugarcane industry minister Ranju Geeta, animal and fish resources minister Vaidnath Sahni and public health and engineering minister Mahachandra Prasad Singh reached their old place before the secretariat staff guided them to their new place near Manjhi. A chief minister’s secretariat official said: “There are 30 ministers. It will take time for everyone to get acquainted.”

The ministers literally had nothing to do from 10am to 12 noon. They spent their time having tea, talking to each other or over their cellphones.

Birendra Yadav, a complainant from Darbhanga, around 150km northeast of Patna, said: “I haven’t come all this way to meet the secretary, I do not know him. I know my minister, Nitish Mishra, but I was not allowed to meet him. I have met him several times in this same janata durbar but he doesn’t want to meet me now.”