The Hindu Business Line : Hopping chambers

The best of intentions can go awry. The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, decided this time to dispense with the practice of chamber-hopping, the day after the Budget, and instead called all the industry organisations together for an interaction. He probably had two things in mind — one, avoid the tedium of repeating himself at every chamber and, two, not to play favourites. For, every year, the chamber that gets the finance minister first would gloat about it and drop hints about its `proximity' to the FM.

So, industry representatives had an extensive interaction with the FM and his team on Wednesday morning, but whispers were already around that there was pressure on him to visit the chambers individually as well. By evening came the invite from FICCI that an interaction with Mr Chadambaram has been organised for Saturday. Now one has to wait forsome `repeats' of the FM's Wednesday interaction.

NATIONAL INTEREST ON AIR

The head of a 24-hour news channel got the shock of his life early this week. Apparently, one day, a burly officer of the UP police walked into the NOIDA studio and told the editor that "in national interest, please shut down your operations for two days.'' Taken aback, the Editor said it was a news channel on air continuously and no way could he shut down.

As for the "national interest,'' the policeman said: "A very, very important person is to visit the institution across the street,'' and for security reasons buildings all around had to be sealed. The VVIP, it turned out, was the US First Lady, Ms Laura Bush, who was to visit the area on Thursday morning while hubby sorted out the civilian nuclear issue with the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. It took some convincing the officer to find other ways of ensuring Mrs Bush's security than switching off the channel.

The channel did manage to stay on air though it probably arranged for guest discussions on the nuclear deal at a location away from the studio.

Garib rath may go empty

The Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad's grand plan to start a Garib Rath may find few travellers. Travel on this new air-conditioned train would cost just about 25 per cent less than the normal three-tier air-conditioned journey, and may put the Rath out of reach of the real Garib (poor). On the contrary, the middle-class, which could have travelled on this train, may not as it would not be too keen on telling friends or relatives of arriving by the Garib Rath.

In the past too, such populism from politicians has killed other initiatives. Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, as Telecom Minister in the NDA government, had launched a `Garibon ka Mobile" (poor man's mobile). Those were early days of mobile telephony and the service failed to make it as people were loath to identify themselves with a product meant for the garib. Garib Rath could head the same way, unless the name is changed.

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