MoS calls PM for award function, invites his ire instead

When Minister of State for Steel Braja Kishore Tripathy wrote to Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee inviting him to present this year’s PM&#1...

When Minister of State for Steel Braja Kishore Tripathy wrote to Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee inviting him to present this year’s PM’s trophy for the Best Integrated Steel Plant to the private sector giant TISCO, he hardly expected to be pulled up by the PM in return.

In an unexpectedly terse note dated December 12, 2002, Vajpayee not only declined to accept Tripathy’s invitation, he also said that it was his ‘‘well considered decision to regret the request citing prior commitment’’.

Then clearly stating the reason for his reluctance to accept the invite, in other words pulling up the MoS for the below par performance of the steel PSUs under him, the Prime Minister noted: ‘‘My reluctance in acceding to your request is also because of the fact that the public sector enterprises in the steel industry must emulate the Tatas to bag this coveted trophy.’’

Vajpayee also suggested that the Ministry should explore the possibility of inviting ‘‘an eminent person from the steel industry’’ to give away the PM’s trophy.

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