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Journalism of Courage
This is surely a clash of wills at the highest8212;and it is even pitting the protagonists against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. There is a quiet battle on between Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Deb despite the PM making it amply clear that there should be no slippages in power capacity addition. The point of contention is whether BHEL should be given bulk orders for power plants using the new 800 mw supercritical technology. Deb thinks so and got the support of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council Chairman V Krishnamurthy. The view was passed on to the PMO. Shinde8217;s bureaucrats immediately got into the act and lobbied with the Finance Ministry to scuttle the idea. Ultimately, North Block sided with the Power Ministry, saying that the 8220;performance of BHEL over the years leaves much to be desired8221;. Has that put Deb and BHEL in the shade? Not quite. The minister has now approached the Cabinet on BHEL8217;s future.
