Watch out for the truth

Jairam Ramesh of the Congress has managed to provoke the usually quiet and polite Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Visiting Bhubaneswar on June 23, the Minister of State for Commerce had a meeting with Patnaik on various economic projects in the state. Later, Patnaik was surprised to find Ramesh telling the media that during the 45-minute discussion the CM had seemed distracted, constantly looking at the watch and only asking the visiting Central minister about the wellbeing of the senior Commerce Minister Kamal Nath.

Bemused, Patnaik told Kamal Nath last week to ask his junior minister to ascertain facts before speaking to the press: He has not worn a wrist watch in the last 40 years.