Is there any particular reason why the usually seasoned and composed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is losing his temper these days? Many are beginning to wonder if it is because of work pressure or because of his inability to tackle burning issues like price rise.
An admirer of Indian political philosopher Kautilya, Mukherjee lost his cool twice in the past week. On the first occasion he reacted angrily to scribes who were keen to know the outcome of a meeting of the Group of Ministers on the third generation (3G) spectrum allocation issue. “Why should I tell the media?” he burst out.
Then again on the anniversary of the 26/11 terror strikes, an irascible finance minister got into an argument with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ananth Kumar on the issue of compensation to victims of the attacks.
“I have come only to listen to him (L.K. Advani). Not to hear from you,” he exploded in parliament. One hears that he is snowed under with work in the ministry and hardly finds time to socialise or play troubleshooter, which is his forte.
