Minister gets jolt

A minister of the state cabinet recently got a jolt in a case. He wanted the government to set up a Lok (a religious corridor as has been built at many places in MP). At a meeting, he pleaded with the bosses to found such a corridor in an area dominated by the tribal people. The minister also suggested a place in his constituency for such a Lok and sought funds for it from his department, but the head of the state was against the proposal. An officer, serving the state government from RSS quota, also opposed it. The officer argued: funds should be allocated to developing small places for the better use of money. Setting up a religious corridor will only just serve any purpose; and, even if it is done, its impact will be too little to be seen. The Chief Minister also gave more importance to the officer’s argument than to the minister’s suggestion. The Minister's best efforts to make an announcement at the meeting for setting up a corridor in his constituency fell through. There are reports that the minister got angry with the officer connected to the RSS.

Angry with MLA

A moneyed legislator had to make a lot of efforts that the head of the state might attend his son’s nuptials which continued for a week. The legislator tried his best to invite the head of the state to grace the occasion on any of the seven days. Ultimately, his efforts paid off, though after the nuptials. The head of the state went to the law-maker’s residence to congratulate his son for tying the knot. Because the head of the state is angry with the legislator for some reasons, before going to his residence he held a meeting in the town where the law-maker lives. In the meeting, the head of the state gave more importance to another legislator, considered an adversary to the MLA whose son got married. About the legislator it said that his comments enraged the head of the state. Now, the legislator is facing the consequences of his anger. 

In a fix

The problems of a minister of the state cabinet have increased because of sycophants. A senior Congress leader recently made some allegations against him at a press conference. After keeping mum over the allegations for several days, the minister filed a defamation case against the Congress leader on the advice of one of his fair-weather friends. But the defamation suit has given fresh ammo to the Congress leader who is getting ready to file a petition against the minister to prove his allegations in the court where both the parties will accuse each other. The people in the corridors of power feel that it will only impale the minister’s prestige; because besides the Congress leaders, many in the BJP are against him. Ergo, a volley of evidence against him may crop up in his constituency. The media has already begun to target the minister in an old case. So, these disputes are set to ratchet up his problems.

Congress free-bees!

The unity among the Congress leaders is a distant dream. How its leaders behave like a bee without a hive has come to light again. An MP has made an objectionable statement against a former chief minister. The supporters of the former CM issued statements in favour of him after the incident, but most of the senior leaders of the party kept quiet over the issue. There are reports that though some supporters of the former CM forced the Congress leaders to release statements, most of these leaders barely showed any interest in the matter. The Congress leaders are rolling up their sleeves to corner the government on some other issues.  Ergo, they felt if the former CM’s statement was given due importance, the other issues being raised by the party would be out of focus. There are talks in the Congress that every leader is raising those issues against the ruling party on their own. These leaders lack the dexterity to stand together.

Wowing vows

A minister of the state is known for his out-of-the-box thinking. Some of his statements seem to be cranky, but they never fall short of generating strong reactions – negative as well as positive – from the public. He has recently come up with a new idea: he will stop ironing clothes to save electricity. The minister feels it is better to wear wrinkled clothes than to waste electricity on pressing them. The minister thinks if he puts on wrinkled clothes, he will remain the same person, but, in the process, may save a few units of electricity, which can be used for some other purposes. But for a few knowing him well, his pledge surprised many in the corridors of power. Once he got into a drain to clean it up without bothering about the foul smell emanating from it. Such stories about him are ample. One day, when he was inspecting under-construction roads in his constituency, the incomplete work enraged him so much that he vowed to give up on wearing slippers until the construction was over. It worked wonders. The government had to tell the agency to finish the work soon. When the roads were built, a union minister helped him wear slippers. Now, it is to be seen how many units of electricity the minister’s unpressed attires save!

Minister in the soup

The comments of a senior minister at a public function, that the people are an army of beggars, have raised a political storm in the state. The comments also supplied the opposition – which most of the time behaves like a snuffed-out furnace – with fuel, but the ruling dispensation distanced itself from the minister’s statements. Yet, a powerful cabinet colleague of the minister tried to pull him out of the mess, though covertly, saying he had agreed with his friend’s remark. He wanted to know how long the government would continue to dole out freebies to the people. He thinks freebies fetch votes but are unable to make people self-reliant. He believes although the handouts have become a burden on the state exchequer, the government lacks the guts to stop it. Any government trying to do so is bound to lose power.  Ergo whatever his colleagues said was true. A bitter truth is always better than a sweet lie. So goes the saying.