Published: Saturday, Jul 24, 2010, 0:55 IST
By Harish Gupta | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_p-chidambaram-sm-krishna-bonhomie-lights-up-cabinet-meet_1413811
After a week of bitterness, it was time for bonhomie. At least that was the mood that emerged at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in New Delhi on Friday.
After having differences with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, railway minister Mamata Banerjee and environment minister Jairam Ramesh, home minister P Chidambaram decided to make peace with them.
The process had started at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, where the home minister managed to placate Banerjee and Krishna. He explained that home secretary GK Pillai’s comments were actually meant to be published after the Indo-Pak foreign ministers meet. That repaired the damage to some extent.
On Friday, Chidambaram and Krishna were seen going overboard to send the message that all is well in the government. They were at the CCS meet convened by the prime minister to discuss crucial issues —-including clearance for the advance jet trainer (AJT) aircraft deal. However, instead of the deal, what stood out were the smiles on their faces. This was the second meeting between them in two days.
Chidambaram had tried to reach out to Krishna at Thursday’s meeting as part of frantic efforts by managers in the government to project that both ministers were on the same page. It is learnt Chidambaram explained to Krishna that home ministry officials will be in touch with those from the MEA on sensitive issues.
On Thursday evening, Krishna dispatched foreign secretary Nirupama Rao to GK Pillai for a talk. After all, Pillai was doing his job and had taken clearance from his minister on his comments before the Indo-Pak summit. So, the fault was more at the political level, not the official level.
