It would be an
understatement if we term Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as indispensable to the
Modi government. Or a master in statecraft? When it comes to crunch decisions,
he is like Kautilya; when it comes to the passage of crucial and important
bills in Parliament, he dons the role of Vidhur in taking opposition parties
into confidence. When Parliament is in session, Jaitley is the most sought
after person by ministerial colleagues, bureaucrats, captains of industry and
the media. He is the only minister who virtually holds a durbar In the Central
Hall with several mediapersons sitting with him or surrounding him. Senior
Ministers like Venkaiah Naidu, Anantha Kumar and Ravi Shankar Prasad come and
brief Jaitley.
His
personal staff often interrupts with small chits, which carry the names of
Sanjay Goenka, Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry or sometimes a Banking secretary or
Lt. General. In an imperial manner, Jaitley nods his head and asks them to
wait. While interacting with the media, Jaitley is full of camaraderie. Asked
about the chances of Venkaiah Naidu becoming vice president, Jaitley answers:
If he becomes Vice President who will hold press conferences to brief the
nation? If somebody asks what are the chances of Jharkhand lady tribal Governor
Draupadi Murmu, Jaitley counters by asking about an additional secretary in the
Ministry of Finance? As far as the media is concerned, the USP of Arun Jaitley
is that he is a great story teller and enjoys real gossip. If the media tells
him anything about his enemies or detractors like Ram Jethmalani, Subramaniam
Swamy or for that matter Arvind Kejriwal, he is eager to listen.
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