Has National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah finally come to terms with his new and renewable energy portfolio, which he jokingly refers to as the ‘gobar gas’ ministry?
Since he took over, insiders say, Abdullah has kept a low profile, eschewed public functions and really did not have his heart in the running of the ministry. Last week he however took time off from shuttling between Srinagar and Delhi and visited Rajasthan for a related function.
Abdullah was there as chief guest on the occasion of the Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Divas (Energy Day) and he promised he would spell out an action plan for power to all villages. Has there been a change of heart? Abdullah now firmly believes that non-conventional energy will be the new force that will save the world from global warming.
Incidentally, Rajasthan is dear to him because his daughter Sarah’s in-laws come from the state. She is married to Abdullah’s fellow union minister Sachin Pilot.
rounak