External obsession

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna might have been removed from the five-star luxury of Maurya Sheraton Hotel, but he still refuses to occupy a room that’s not properly done up. Last week, Krishna came to see his newly-allotted office in Parliament. As soon as he entered Room Number 27, he frowned and told his aides that he couldn’t use it until it was refurnished. Although the room looked perfectly all right (it was used by a top Opposition leader till two months ago), it wasn’t up to his standards. A Congress bigwig quipped: “The allotment of the room shows that despite his poor performance in the South Block, he is still close to Sonia Gandhi — his room is next to Gandhi’s office (Room Number 25)!”