A story of surprise choices
The element of surprise wasn’t as much in elevations and new inductions in the council of ministers as in the allocation of portfolios in Sunday’s reshuffle.
The race for the external affairs ministry ended with Salman Khurshid bagging the prize charge for which he was tipped much before the ugly controversy over a trust he runs for the disabled. But new arrivals in the ministries of railways, human resource development, petroleum and law and justice were a trifle unexpected.
Pallam Raju’s elevation from MoS Defence to HRD minister in Cabinet rank could be explained in terms of the Congress’s anxiety to recoup the ground it has lost in Andhra. But Shashi Tharoor’s appointment as his junior was an incongruity, given the Kerala MP’s international profile and undisputed talent.
Another success story among junior ministers is that of Ashwani Kumar, the new minister for Law and Justice. The lawyer-politician has been elevated to cabinet rank from being a minister of state, unlike Ajay Maken and Dinsha Patel who earned the spurs after holding independent charge of their previous ministries.
Kumar’s articulate and reportedly has the Prime Minister’s ear. His stout defense of the government against the Opposition and the civil society over graft charges seems to have fetched him the double promotion.
Recognition of meritorious Gen-X leaders is evident as much in the elevation of Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and Jitendra Singh as ministers of state with independent charge. They are counted among Rahul Gandhi’s peers on the government side.
Besides Veerappa Moily’s transfer to the Petroleum Ministry in place of Jaipal Reddy, Chandigarh MP Pawan Bansal’s transition from parliamentary affairs to railways has befuddled many, not because he lacks experience but the fact that he represents a union territory in the Lok Sabha.
Bansal’s predecessors in past years were from big states: West Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Maybe that’ll help him strike a balance in assessing and meeting the demands of various states, argued a Congress functionary. “He wouldn’t have the bias railways ministers from larger states have historically shown for their native provinces,” he said.
Be that as it may, Bansal’s junior colleagues in the ministry— K J Surya Prakash Reddy and Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary — are from Andhra and West Bengal. As first time ministers, they’d go the extra length to make an impact in their home states.
Hindustan Times



(4.56 out of 5)
Ravi Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
I hear that Obama is struggling, can Modi go over to the USA to help fellow right-winger Romney deliver the coup de grace
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Anonymous Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 6:37 pm
Joke is not your forte, please don’t try.
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Ravi Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 6:46 pm
I leave recycling of internet jokes to you. Being creative is enough for me.
Anonymous Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 6:48 pm
This completely fell flat on it’s face. Keep trying.
Ravi Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Says who. You who does not know one original joke!! Pardon me if I take no notice.
Anonymous Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 6:57 pm
Almost all jokes we hear or read are recycled. Anyway how about this one.
Fatima ka Rape ho gya……. !
Ammee jaan – Ya Allah ! Ab Fatima ka kya hoga !!!
Haramzado ne Izzat LOOTLI…. !
Fatima : Ammee jaan aap pareshan na ho ALLAH ne izzat bacha li…. Wo sab Kabul ke Pathan the !!! Izzat b bach gai or QABZ b theek ho gayi.
Ravi Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 7:00 pm
If you find that funny. Then you must be a sad man in real-life.
You should wait for BV Shenoy to appreciate your humour. The two of you share a wave length.
Anonymous Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Nothing can be done about this. Sense of humour bhi upar waale ki den hai, aapko nahin diya to nahin diya. You have no choice but to live with it.
Ravi Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 7:18 pm
I have less of a problem with it than you seem to. After all you started that thread.
guest Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 1:20 am
modi cannot but soniaji can. all she needs to tell him is the insurance she used for treatment in USA. he’d like to provide the same to all americans so that not only their medical is taken care of but also pays for family expenses.
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Ravi Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 5:58 am
Disgusting twat