Cheque for cows, Jaswant does a Santa at his turf

Wearing his black beret from his days with an Armoured Regiment, ‘‘son of the soil, soldier, farmer’’ and Finance Minist...

Wearing his black beret from his days with an Armoured Regiment, ‘‘son of the soil, soldier, farmer’’ and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh today took a quick trip back home to Barmer — once his Parliamentary constituency — to drive home the point that his is the hand that signs the cheques in the Government.

In the desert district to inaugurate the first clinic of the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Singh had lots to say, mostly in chaste Marwari, to an appreciative crowd. And he had more to offer than a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony that inaugurated the new clinic.

Chucking English and Hindi, Singh switched to Marwari to play Santa Claus and dole out gifts to those who had travelled through the desert to be present at the function.

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He presented a cheque of Rs 227 lakh to the District Commissioner for hapless cows. The cheque, said Singh, was to help set up cattlesheds as well as make provisions for foodgrains everyday.

A visibly amused Fernandes sat back and let his colleague to do all the talking in Jalipa Cantonment. Singh later sought his permission to ‘‘spend sometime with the brave war veterans and war widows’’ and jumped into the crowd armed with sewing machines, gifts and cash-filled envelopes.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the ministries of Finance and Defence are exploring ways to ensure the Defence budget is spread over two years. Singh said it is ‘‘impractical’’ to expect purchase of major weapon systems to be completed in 12 months. Fernandes also said the MoD has cleared the procurement of the AJTs.

The police said that Kumar, a resident of Turbhe MIDC in Navi Mumbai, was driving his concrete mixer truck when it collided with an SUV.

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