Opinion Practise what you preach
Many of his cabinet colleagues are furious with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for publicly admonishing S M Krishna and Shashi Tharoor....
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Many of his cabinet colleagues are furious with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for publicly admonishing S M Krishna and Shashi Tharoor. They felt Mukherjee could have instead conveyed the message of moving out of the five star hotels to them privately. At Thursdays Cabinet meeting,when the new austerity measure of ministers travelling only by economy class on commercial flights was discussed,DMKs Dayanidhi Maran mentioned that along with the PM,three cabinet ministers,A K Antony,P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee,had the luxury of travelling by a special aircraft. Maran was put up by some younger Cabinet ministers who point out privately that while Antony and Chidambaram get their exclusive privilege because of the small aircraft attached to their ministries,Mukherjee is permitted a special aircraft in his individual capacity. In response to his detractors whisper campaign,Mukherjee announced on Friday that he would be travelling to Kolkata in economy class by Jet Lite.
Paying the price
Because of Jaswant Singhs refusal to step down as Public Accounts Committee chairperson,Yashwant Sinha,another BJP sulker,is paying the price. Sinha has not been appointed chairperson of any of the other four parliamentary committees headed by a BJP MP. In fact,he has not even been accommodated in the Finance and External affairs committees,though he has held both ministerial portfolios. The BJP clearly apprehends that Sinha too might leave the party and does not want another post to slip out of its control.
Lost in translation
Much has been made in a section of the media over the fact that Chinese troops have entered our territory in Ladakh and even had the effrontery to write Republic of China in Chinese in red paint on a rock near the border. Actually the words on the rock read not China but middle yellow river,according to Sinologist D S Rajan. In fact,such minor intrusions by both sides across the disputed bounder is not unusual.
Payback time
No one has pointed a finger at Nandan Nilekani for staying at the five star Maurya Hotel in Delhi while he waits for his government accommodation. They are certain the businessman will be paying from his own pocket. On the other hand,since Shashi Tharoor will not receive his UN monthly pension of $6,000 till he reaches 60,some wonder how Tharoor footed the bill as a guest at the Taj Hotel for almost three months. Of course,five star hotels do slash charges for special customers and the MEA,a regular patron of the hotel for its parties,can always get the tariff reduced.
Not ready for a row
One of the compromise formulas suggested by the Congress high command to avoid making YSRs son Jaganmohan Reddy chief minister is to appoint the late chief ministers confidante K V P Ramachandra Rao as CM while Jagan is made a central minister and then groomed for the CMs post. The powerful Reddy clan,which dominates that state is,however,ready only for a Reddy.
Although Reddys account for only seven per cent of the state population,57 of the 158 Congress MLAs are Reddys. A 12-page memorandum giving a list of Reddy placements in both political and official posts is an eye opener. Reddys have monopolised key ministerial berths in the state government and also grabbed most of the state representation at the Centre. Reddys are chairpersons of most of the commissions and tribunals,assembly committees,urban development authorities,co-operative banks,agriculture market committees and municipal committees. They are also in disproportionate numbers as vice chancellors,law officers and key officials in civil administration and the police.
Present but silent
An agenda paper on the Chemical Ministry was hotly discussed at last weeks Cabinet meeting. Apart from the Secretary,Chemicals,Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Sports Minister M S Gill,all provided inputs. When the Prime Minister asked Minister for Chemicals M K Azhagiri if he had any point to make,the DMK minister shook his head. At least Azhagiri,sometimes referred to as a minister-in-absentia because of his preference for spending more time in his home state than Delhi,was present at the meeting. An important item on the Railways was on the agenda but Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee was missing.
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