Aiyar raises a toast to the ethics

Replying to a supplementary by BJP member Dharmendra Pradhan on why the UPA government was not promoting the NDA’s initiative to blend ethanol with petrol, Aiyar underlined the need to have enough ethanol supplies to pursue the objective.

‘‘Pehle sharaab peena kam kijiye, kyunki ethanol to pehle hi sharaab banane mein kaafi use ho jaata hain, uske baad hamare paas pahunchta hain. Isliye hamen aashavasan de ki ethanol wahan nahin jayega… (First, reduce consumption of alcohol because a lot of ethanol is used to make alcohol and then oil. Assure us it will not be used for alcohol),’’ he said.

No sooner had he said that when several self-righteous BJP members, led by V K Malhotra, were on their feet—apparently protesting against the Minister’s advice to them to stop drinking.

Aiyar, tongue firmly in cheek, said,‘‘I do not think Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra has ever enjoyed the joys of whisky. I am a Foreign Service officer. So, I take the blame…I think ethanol should be used first by the oil industry…”

And then raising an imaginary toast to Malhotra, Aiyar said: ‘‘Cheers!’’