Centre shows its soft spot for Arjun

HRD Minister Arjun Singh appears to be getting all the support from the UPA leadership to go ahead with his plans. Tomorrow, Singh will get two important visitors at Shastri Bhavan. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission, will come over with a few commission members and other officials. The same afternoon, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will meet Singh to discuss the position of the ministry8217;s funds.

Officials said this has seldom happened in the last decade. Four years ago, Yashwant Sinha, then Finance minister in the NDA government, had come over to meet former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi but that was more to explain how the Finance Ministry8217;s hands were tied. With Singh having travelled a long distance with his detoxification drive, it appears that the UPA leadership is willing to give him the respect that goes with his stature.

The officials pointed out that both the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry8217;s soft spot for the HRD Ministry is quite in contrast with the situation last year when Joshi had to move around pleading for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan grants.

Both meetings relate to funds for education programmes listed in the common minimum programme. Singh wants to know how much his ministry would get from the education cess. The ministry will also demand an additional Rs 350 crore for upgrading higher education facilities in the identified 250 backward districts.