New Delhi, Aug 23 (Inditop.com) Something had to give. The pressure of keeping not only your nerve but that of the entire country’s, which is in the spell of swine flu, even got to the affable and composed Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who according to a close aide is “mildly to intensely raged” these days.
“The seemingly uncontrollable spread of the H1N1 virus is giving him a tough time and that is why he is behaving like the protagonist of (1980s movie) ‘Albert Pinto ko gussa kyon aata hai’,” the aide told Inditop.
“Azad normally doesn’t wear this school headmaster-like attitude. But since the swine flu (broke out), anger has become his predominant behaviour. He has been mildly to intensely raged since,” the aide said on strict conditions of anonymity, fearing “I will get a new dose of wrath” if named.
Azad, the aide said, wants to get rid of this “swine flu ghost” as soon as possible and wants the state governments to act responsibly.
At an open meeting with state health ministers here Friday, Azad burst out with anger and said: “Bloody, hum yahan 20-24 ghante kaam karte hain aur aap baithe huye ho (Bloody, we are working 20-24 hours and you are just sitting.)”.
The “unparliamentary language” led incensed state ministers to castigate him.
“The outburst was not misplaced,” the aide said.
“He was infuriated with the lax response from some state governments. He is really burning the midnight oil to prevent the H1N1 virus from spreading more.”
A total of 54 people have died of swine flu all over the country and over 2,600 are infected.
In the Congress party, Azad is known for his soft-spoken negotiating abilities and has successfully brokered many political deals for the party in holding together the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Recently after the Lok Sabha elections, Azad succeeded in wooing back the DMK after the third largest constituent in the UPA coalition had threatened to move out following a row over ministerial berths.
