No, minister

Chhattisgarh’s department of culture, which is responsible for finalising the list of artistes to perform at the state’s foundation day function, became a sort of barometer of state politics. At a review meeting held at Chief Minister Raman Singh’s house, Culture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal was all for inviting Bollywood stars. They were crowd-pullers, he argued, and, therefore, worthy of an invitation to the state government’s celebrations on November 1 at Naya Raipur, the new capital. But Department Secretary K D P Rao strongly disagreed and suggested that artistes from different states should be invited instead. The dispute became so heated that the chief minister had to intervene and ask the two to sit together and finalise the list. The issue is significant for another reason — how did the secretary have the courage to openly contradict his minister?