Shinde trips Chidambaram on day one

Delays going to North Block; tells reporters he was waiting for Chidambaram to clear files in home ministry

GN Bureau | August 1, 2012



A day after moving away from the power trip across half of India as the power minister, new home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Wednesday tripped his predecessor P Chidambaram just before assuming the charge.

He delayed going to the North Block to 11.30 am to take up the new assignment. When asked he told reporters at his residence that he was waiting for Chidambaram to finish clearing of files in the home ministry.

Little did he realise the massive embarrassment caused to Chidambaram, who cannot touch any file in the ministry since he ceased to be the home minister the moment the president signed the communique on Tuesday evening, shifting him to the finance ministry.
There was a joke in the AICC headquarters over Shinde getting the new and bigger responsibility on the day he tripped on power: Pranab Mukherjee tripped the economy and became the president of India and now Shinde tripped the grids and became the home minister.

Shinde first called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath and then assumed the charge as the home minister, vowing to plug gaps in the relations between the states and the centre by working closely with the chief ministers in dealing with the internal security challenges.

A former chief minister of Maharashtra, he knows what problems states face. He told reporters: "One has to have good relations with states. The states may be ruled by different parties. But I want to send a message to all chief ministers that we are all Indians and together we will work wherever there is a difficulty."

Pointing out that Chidambaram has plugged the gaps with the states "to a certain extent," he said: "I have been hearing from political circles in Central Hall in parliament that there is still scope to plug gaps in relations between the states and the centre."

He could not resist from pointing out that he is the second Dalit to become India's home minister. Rajiv Gandhi had made Buta Singh the home minister in 80s and it is Sonia Gandhi who gave him the key job.

Pointing out that he was still to get a grip of the gigantic task awaiting him in the home ministry, Shinde offered his last byte as the outgoing power minister, stressing that "people should appreciate how fast our engineers restored power...We got electricity in a matter of hours."
 

Comments

 

Other News

Who checks the books?

I read about the news about the Coimbatore library over coffee this morning. On the face of it, the headline was about a political ‘war’ between the DMK and TVK. But what stayed with me was something much more important than the blame game behind what had transpired. A writer walking through

Development paradox: Falling poverty miracle and an inequality problem

India’s reduction in poverty over the past decade is a development achievement of considerable significance. The World Bank’s April 2026 ‘India Development Update’ estimates that the share of Indians living below the international extreme-poverty line of $3.00 per person per day i

In Arunachal, a river we call mother

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang is not just a river. For many of us, especially the Adi people, it is part of our family. Our grandparents fished in it. Children learned to swim in it. Our farms drink from it. When someone says a huge dam will be built on it, we do not hear the word "project".

A new retelling of the Mahabharata delves into key moments

In a time when every decision carries consequences and questions of ambition, power, loyalty, identity and moral choice continue to shape our lives, Dr. Arun Krishnan’s new book, ‘Mahakshana’ (Penguin India) offers a strikingly relevant retelling of the Mahabharata.  

Cabinet approves viability gap funding to develop grid-scale energy storage systems

The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme for Development of Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems, with a total financial support of Rs.14,500 crore for the period FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. The scheme aims to support the development o

Cabinet creates a pathway to absorb Agniveers in Defence Forces

An objective assessment in terms of organisational requirements and operational efficiency has brought out the outstanding performance of Agniveers in terms of skills, motivation levels, physical fitness and technological prowess. As envisaged earlier, based on merit, 25% of Agniveers will be offered reg

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter