Austerity initiative finds more takers.FINANCE minister Pranab Mukherjee's recent reiteration of a circular on adopting austerity measures is slowly finding more takers among the high- flier ministers. Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar Sharadchandra Govind Rao Pawar (Marathi: शरदचंद्र गोविंदराव पवार)(born December 12, 1940) Maratha strongman and president of the Nationalist Congress Party , who was said to have objected to the idea, became the latest to fall in line when he flew economy class to Delhi from Mumbai on Sunday. The other ' opposing' minister Farooq Abdullah Dr. Farooq Abdullah (born October 21 1936, Soura, Kashmir), the son of Sheikh Abdullah, is a doctor of medicine and has served as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions. , however, is known to be fond of the good life. Abdullah's objection came on the grounds that economy class airline seats have little room to accommodate his tall frame. Textile minister Dayanidhi Maran Dayanidhi Maran (Tamil: தயாநிதி மாறன்) (born December 5, 1966, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India) is a member of parliament in India’s 14th Lok Sabha from is also said to be not very enthusiastic about the austerity drive which becomes important in the light of the recessionary conditions and drought in several parts of the country. Union commerce minister Anand Sharma Shri Anand Sharma a politician from Indian National Congress party is a Member of the Parliament of India representing Himachal Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament. He is currently the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs. is understood to be in favour of travelling first class in international flights because the journeys are long and tiring. Sharma, so far, could be the only Congress minister opposed to Mukherjee's austerity move. Even before Mukherjee's suggestion came, railway minister Mamata Bannerjee had led the entire pack of Union cabinet on adopting austerity measures. " Everyone knows the way I live. I whole heartedly welcome measures suggested by the finance minister. I have been practising it for decades," said the Trinamool leader, who doesn't travel in an official car, lives in a government apartment and even pays for her snacks at Rail Bhavan Rail Bhavan is the headquarters of the Indian Railways. It is located at 1, Raisina Road, New Delhi, near the Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House). The Minister of Railways sits in the Rail Bhavan, along with the Railway Board, comprising 7 members. . The latest controversy erupted after foreign minister S. M. Krishna Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, generally referred to as S M Krishna (born 1932) is the Governor of the Indian state of Maharashtra. He was also the chief minister of the southern state of Karnataka from October 1999 to May 2004. S.M. Krishna is the son of S.C. and his deputy Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor (Born 9 March 1956 in London) was the official candidate of India for the succession to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2006, and came second out of seven official candidates in the race. were found to be staying in five- star hotels ever since they entered office. Mukherjee later asked them to check out of the hotels and they complied. While a word from the savvy Tharoor is still awaited, Krishna also took a giant leap by announcing that he wouldn't fly abroad by a private aircraft -- he is entitled to one -- and instead use regular commercial flights. Krishna has also promised not to fly first class on international travels although the finance minister's suggestion was for domestic trips only. The foreign minister is scheduled to fly to Belarus and Turkmenistan starting Tuesday and to Russia in October. Mukherjee, anyway, has been leading by example on checking any unnecessary drain from the national exchequer. On Saturday he flew to Kolkata economy class and that too aboard a no- frill airline. Others who have come out in support of finance minister's advice include civil aviation minister Praful Patel Praful Patel (born February 17, 1957, Kolkata) is an Indian Member of Parliament. He currently if minister of state of Ministry of Civil Aviation of India. Shri Patel graduated in Commerce prior to joining the family business with diverse interests in bidis, tobacco, , tourism minister Kumari Selja, environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh, heavy industries minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Ghulam Nabi Azad (born March 7, 1949 in Jammu and Kashmir, India) is an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress. He was the Parliamentary Affairs Minister of India in the Manmohan Singh government until October 27, when he was appointed as the chief minister of the and women and child development minister Krishna Teerath, who has cancelled her official trip to the US. ashish.sinha@mailtoday.in Copyright 2009 India Today Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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