Date:03/02/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/03/stories/2006020303110200.htm

Tamil Nadu

Bubbling with comments

Usually there won't be dearth of comments when the irrepressible Union Shipping and Road Transport Minister, T.R. Baalu, is around. Similar was the situation at the function held to mark the commencement of road overbridge construction at Lalapet near Karur on Thursday.

Mr. Baalu directed most of his speech at the press corps and former DMK MP Kovai M. Ramanathan, all present and of course, the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, in absentia. He questioned her repeated remarks on the performance of the dozen (now a baker's dozen) Union Ministers from the State. He claimed that his Ministry alone was undertaking Rs.25,000 crore worth schemes for the State. Space and time constraint prevented him from listing them, he observed, during the function that ran close to two-and-a-half hours.

Pointing out that the State police were visually recording the event and his speech, Mr. Baalu ingeniously said, ``Yes, there are politicians from the UPA parties on stage. But if anybody questions their presence, then I'll claim that since they are stakeholders in the road overbridge project, they are eligible to be seated on the dais.''

Quite often during his speech he turned to address his `Mama'' Mr. Kovai Ramanathan, who was a star speaker.

But Mr. Baalu was happy to relate events, old and current, to his beloved ``Mama'', whom he had appointed to one of the advisory positions attached to his Ministry.

From L. Renganathan in Karur.