On a sticky wicket

‘‘These days, I suppose ministers without portfolios would want secretaries and an entire ministry of officials, from joint secretary upwards, to look after their ‘non-ministries’ and discuss ‘non-papers’,’’ I remarked.

‘‘The ministers without portfolios were great men,’’ continued Mukul, ‘‘they always had something to do. People used to say there were the busiest.’’

‘‘But these days the impression is that if you are denied a portfolio it is a step down,’’ I pointed out. ‘‘Or worse, that Natwar wants to retain a ministerial tag at any cost. Natwar had made it clear that he would never resign but doesn’t this now make it seem that he wants to cling on like a limpet?’’

‘‘Maybe,’’ retorted Mukul, ‘‘but as a honourable man, he has done the honourable thing — leaving the ministry but retaining the dignity of the chair. I think he felt that even if the foreign ministry was taken away from him he should at least maintain an office in keeping with the dignity of the chair.’’

‘‘The Congress could have explained this so well,’’ I said.

‘‘They are all jealous of him and his efforts to preserve the dignity of the foreign office.’’

‘‘Right now, in cricketing terms, he seems to have been given out by the umpire, not out by the square leg umpire, hit wicket by the third umpire and neither out nor not out in action replays which seem to be playing and re-playing in many people’s minds,’’ I said.

‘‘I think there is a move for him to work on and suggest how the posts of Jagdish Tytler, Shibu Soren, Ramprakash Yadav, Ghulam Nabi Azad could be filled up,’’ claimed Mukul.

‘‘That’s a lot of work for a man without portfolio,’’ I agreed. ‘‘Increasingly, there is a suspicion that he is being wronged. How is it that foreign governments in Moscow, France and South Africa condemned the report, but we, in India, are the first to take action on it.’’

‘‘There are a variety of reasons,’’ was Mukul’s reply. ‘‘First, they don’t have the BJP pouncing on every issue. Second, they don’t have an honest Prime Minister like Manmohan Singh. Third, they don’t have anyone even closely resembling Natwar Singh.’’

‘‘You mean his removal has less do with the Volcker report,’’ I asked, surprised.

‘‘Of course, who cares for the report?’’ Mukul retorted. ‘‘Actually, two inspectors from Haryana have offered to help. They said that under the Haryana IPC, they can summon Volcker to India and question him over the weekend. By Monday, he would admit that he is himself responsible for the oil scandal and the entire report is forged.’’

‘‘Why wasn’t this offer taken up?’’ I asked.

‘‘The fact is that foreign governments in Russia, France and South Africa also want these Haryana inspectors,’’ said Mukul. ‘‘It would have certainly enhanced India’s image but how can we afford to lose such good officers.’’