A Minister that listens and acts

The Common Man, the centerpiece of Democracy who often feels neglected has, over the years, ingrained certain notions of the workings of the Government - the Ministers, the Bureaucrats, the smaller Baboos and the other paraphernalia that make up the Executive.

A Minister, for example, is supposed to have hardly any inclination to personally grasp the issues confronting the portfolio handled by him, preferring to rely on what is fed to him by the Baboos.

A friend was, therefore, pleasantly surprised when a suggestion made to the Hon. Minister for Commerce and Industry, Kamal Nath, elicited a prompt response by the Minister himself, sending an email from his personal email address. The Minister was quick to assure that he had initiated action on the suggestion.


The pleasant surprise turned to bewilderment when, after a short time, another email ensued as a follow-up from the Minister through the responsible officer as to exactly what action was actually being taken!

Kamal Nath seems to have the ability to listen, to understand and personally initiate actions and follow-up on them, a quality which most of our other politician-turned-ministers would do well to develop.