Fewer claims, please

Since the meeting of technology officials was to mark "Good Governance Day" or December 25, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday, Ravi Shankar Prasad doled out many anecdotes from his tenure as a minister in Vajpayee's government. He said that soon after taking over as coal minister in the previous National Democratic Alliance government, he sent a letter to Vajpayee to inform him about some actions he had taken as the minister in charge and the ensuing positive results. But Prasad did not receive any response for a week. "I decided to find out why there was a week's delay in the congratulations," he told the officials present. It turned out, Prasad said, that Vajpayee had first verified Prasad's claims, and sent a pat on the back only after being thoroughly convinced of their truth. However, the bureaucrats present did not require any investigation to discover the hidden message in Prasad's choice of anecdotes. It came through loud and clear - less claims, more action!