Bull's Eye

In his pressconference, the PM proved he was strong. He announced he would set up the sixth pay commission. The nation hasn’t recovered from the effect of the fifth pay commission yet. But the Left allies wanted the sixth. As an economist, the PM knew what that meant. But he showed his strength. He went ahead anyway. Where will the money come from, many weaklings asked. The PM flexed his muscles. "We’ll print it!" Opposition leaders were shown their place!

If Advani had been more alert, he would have perceived the PM’s strength and not made his silly remark. He should have recalled how the police ordered the arrest of a central minister, Jayaprakash Narain Yadav. To escape arrest, the minister fled. He too was strong. But the PM was stronger. "You can’t remain in the government if you evade arrest. I don’t have the strength to hand you over to the police, but I have the strength to demand your resignation!" Bowing to superior strength, Yadav resigned. But though weaker than the PM, he was stronger than the police. He refused to get arrested till it suited him.

Recently, the new cabinet was announced. Shibu Soren had to leave the earlier cabinet because of criminal cases against him. Those cases are still pending. But the PM was not bothered. It takes strength to bend norms. The PM has that strength. Soren is a minister.

The Times of India reported how the PM wrote a letter to his cabinet colleagues ordering them not to take major policy decisions without consulting him. His letter was ignored. The PM was made of stern stuff. He wrote a second letter. That too was ignored. It was then that the PM flexed his muscles and summoned all his strength. He wrote the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, the eighth and the ninth letters. All these letters were also ignored. But strong men don’t give up easily. According to speculation by experts, the PM is busy drafting his tenth letter.

(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)