Is T.R. Baalu a survivor or what ?
Did you know that he has had his seat warm in the Union Cabinet since 1995 no matter whether it is the Third Front, Second Front or the Numer Uno Front in power ?
Little wonder his clout runs deep and all the way up to the PMO. For if there has been one fixture of continuity in the corridors of power in New Delhi apart from the Civil Service it is perhaps T.R. Baalu.
To fully appreciate T.R. Baalu’s gastric problems we must rewind back to the United Front days when he was Minister of State for Petroleum. Back then T.R. Baalu was pushing for petrochemical projects to be located in home state Tamil Nadu despite their questionable viability.
First it was a proposal for an export-oriented refinery in Nagapattinam which was shelved by the IOC board. But then persistent Baalu would have none of it and he pushed BPCL complex at Krishnapattnam in Tamil Nadu. The sequence of events here is interesting and it goes to highlight how deep Baalu’s run-ins with the Oil&Gas industry are.
May 12 – BPCL Board refuses to sanction 50 crores for the preparation of a detailed feasibility report since the proposal did not establish the project’s viability. The board has directed that the proposal be re-examined and specific details on its profitability be put up for reconsideration.
May 30th – Ignoring objections raised by the Petroleum Ministry, the board of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has approved the proposal for setting up a Rs 7,346 crore petrochemicals complex in Tamil Nadu, the home state of Minister for Petroleum T R Baalu.
Well that was 1997. Let us now fast forward to 2008 and the latest nepotism charges against Baalu. The specific charges against Baalu relate to his admission in parliament two days ago that he had put in a word to the petroleum minister and also pushed the Prime Minister’s Office to expedite gas allocation to Kings Chemical and Kings High Power – companies owned by his two sons from his two wives.
The issue assumes an even more serious proportion for it drags the teflon coated Prime Minister (petrochemical pun unintended) into it with the PMO writing to the Petroleum Ministry asking it to expedite the release of gas. Acoording to the TNN, the PMO wrote 8 letters between 2007 an 2008.
At the heart of the issue is the Gas shortage. The TNN also has details on the gas shortage and the impact on power plants. Now here is the rub. Baalu’s flatulence?has been to both sides of the Gas shortage equation.
Back in 1998 Baalu made news for claiming that that the reserves in the Andamans were roughly 1,700 billion cubic feet, making it the country’s second-largest gas reserve after the South Bassein fields. The Indian Express had then carried this editorial criticizing Baalu for making pompous promises which had no bearing in reality for no Oceanographic studies had been conducted to back up the claim.
Offstumped Bottomline: That T.R. Baalu was a?habitual nepotist should come as no surprise to anyone. What is damning is the extent to which the Prime Minister’s Office went out on a limb to curry favors to his bigamous family business. As the teflon coating peels off Dr. Mamohan Singhis it surprising that the 8 letters written by the PMO should leak in the same week that Rahul Gandhi’s competence to be Prime Minister is tom tommed ?
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[...] Offstumped Bottomline: That T.R. Baalu was a habitual nepotist should come as no surprise to anyone. What is damning is the extent to which the Prime Minister’s Office went out on a limb to curry favors to his bigamous family business. As the teflon coating peels off Dr. Mamohan Singhis it surprising that the 8 letters written by the PMO should leak in the same week that Rahul Gandhi’s competence to be Prime Minister is tom tommed ? [...]
Yossarin,
Do you think the people of TN care? Even TR Baalu feathers is nest and does little or nothing for his constituents (apart fro ma few scraps here and there) they will vote for him. So why should they deserve any better.
Manmohan Singh is personally honest, but tolerates anything committed by his colleagues, and will do anything for his master. He became a politician a long whle ago when he ditched Raogaaru and helped his master unseat Sitaram Kesari.
[...] tells us that TR Baalu is a survivor in the Union Cabinet irrespective of who was in power. Baalu’s Nepotism-Bigamous and Flatulent talks about his efforts way back in 1997 to start a refinery in Krishnapattnam to the recent [...]
I think T.R. Baalu is only a part of the problem. With patriarchal parties like DMK being the major partner in the government, their selection of cabinet ministers speaks a lot.
DMK has always told us he greatness of Tamil language and culture to such an extent that it has constantly refuted any attempt to the penetration of our national language in ‘their’ state. It time it cuts the crap; and shows out how great Tamil Nadu is by choosing some honorable men, and not nepotists as its minister.
As for the PM office, well its toothless. Having either the current PM as a prime ministerial candidate or even crown price ‘Rahul’ baba; both comes as a shock to any one who has cared for this country with an open mind. I hope the next prime minister we have is a decision maker, and its sets the precedence not in building from a distasteful cabin minister and making reminders to other ministries, to how efficiently things can be done.
TRB is only doing what he knows best! Ram Vilas Paswan too is a great ‘time server’-he has been minister in every cabinet starting from VP Singh’s till date…:)
Yossarin,just look around and u see ‘Trojan horses’ every where.Just ready (or are doing so already!) to wreck the system from with in! Be it this spine less PM, or a President we did not deserve or A finicky Lok Sabha Speaker (whose live commentary is nauseating) or a vice president from old ‘left’ stable…!!!!
The biggest time server of all times is MMS (manmohan singh), i am ashamed of being a Punjabi these days.
PI.
[...] D) Is it because the Petroleum Ministry is allergic to bigamous and flatulent nepotism ? [...]
we tamilians are a pragmatic lot. we dont care about neopotism as long as our roads and water and electricity are there. that is there, to hell with neopotism.
Time to bring in laws that curtails or let me blunt destroys these dammned regional parties.
New rule must state that a political party must have bases in 5 different states and must win min. of 20 seats from each state only then they will be registered as a political party in India.
What a mess, every third day some stupid despot starts a party, the evils of regionalism will be destroyed if above rule is implemented.
May God dammn these regional parties.
Mr baalu Our Village at Gujarat Sarodaa Dholkaa Dist.on behalf of Night There was No Light from Kalikund Dholkaa to Sarodaa Village way 8kms. though M.P. Ratilal Varma Minister Chudasama If Any accident accused died in disaster who is responsible for that I M Journalist.Mr. Baalu ple interfear in Guj. and take strong action for Highway’s light prob.