New Delhi, May 27: Mohammad Taslimuddin on Wednesday tried his best to assume charge as Minister of State for Food and Agriculture. But that was not to be as ministry officials did not give him the nod on the pretext of non-availability of office space. The real reason, however, is quite different. Sources said the big boss in the ministry, Sharad Pawar, is apprehensive of having a tainted leader as his deputy. Ministry officials maintained that there was no word from Mr Taslimuddin as to when he would assume office. But sources said Mr Pawar made some discreet inquiries about Mr Taslimuddin, designated to be his number two in the ministry. Mr Pawar, the sources added, then decided to speak to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue, urging him to shift the tainted RJD leader to some other department. Mr Pawar, apparently, has no problem with the other RJD leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh who, along with Kantilal Bhuria, assumed office as the two ministers of state in the ministry. The sources further said that when Mr Taslimuddin was to be removed from heavy industries due to a technical glitch, RJD chief and Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav wanted to accommodate him in the Rural Development Ministry held by another RJD leader, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh. Mr Singh turned down the request on the pretext that he already had two ministers of state in his ministry and that there was no scope for a third one. Mr Yadav, too, has two MoS's in the Railway Ministry and could not accommodate Mr Taslimuddin.