Minister who doesn’t wait
If you have an appointment with Finance Minister P Chidambaram better be punctual. If you are late even by a few minutes forget about your appointment.

Chidambaram — known for his penchant for punctuality — gets irritated if one does not stick to time. 
Recently Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VODAFONE — the world’s largest cell phone company — Arun Sarin, during his visit to India had sought an appointment with Chidambaram. The appointment was granted and the time allotted for meeting was sharp 12 noon.

Sarin was late by a few minutes. As he rushed towards Chidambaram’s chamber in the North Block he was politely told that the Finance Minister after waiting for him had moved on to his next appointment.

An embarrassed Sarin was virtually speechless. An apologetic Sarin still expressed his desire for an appointment with Chidambaram and was ready to wait till the Finance Minister was free. The message was conveyed to Chidambaram. After sometime the reply came stating that Sarin would have to wait for four hours.

For Sarin what could bring more relief than this? A relieved Sarin left the North Block. He saw to it that he was back in the North Block at least half an hour before the re-scheduled meeting.

Aditya Raj Das At the beck & call of Maya
Fearful of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati withdrawing support to it at the Centre, the United Progressive Alliance(UPA) government is conceding to all her demands. Mayawati has already asked for a huge economic package from the Centre and has been often reminding the Prime Minister to expedite the release of development funds.

The government-led by the Congress is more than willing to yield to the pressure from Maya Memsaab whom the Congress also sees as its future partner in power at the Centre.

The Congress and BSP have also found in SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav a common political foe.

The convergence of  “interests” is seen as one of the reasons for unleashing investigations  against Yadav.

One of the latest demands promptly conceded by the Congress was Maya Memsaab’s demand for allocation of a spacious accommodation in the elite Lutyens Delhi.

The Urban Housing Ministry which is already relocating all political parties outside the Lutyen region, has not only accepted the demand but also agreed to the BSP request to take into consideration its opinion during the relocation.

The government has already granted another huge government house in Lutyen’s zone to the BSP.

The UPA government, it seems, is flouting the norms which it had laid down.All is fair in love, war and power.