Some friction, some humour

With External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj still recuperating, her two junior ministers addressed the mid-term press conference on Wednesday. But two ministers jointly holding a press conference has its pitfalls. Ministers of State V K Singh and M J Akbar cooperated for a large part of the media interaction that lasted over an hour, steering clear of answering questions belonging to the other’s jurisdiction. At one point, Akbar was about to wade into a question on China, when he stopped short, sensing Singh’s discomfort. There was also some humour when Singh pointed out that India-Nepal bilateral relations were so warm that he, as a former chief of the Indian Army, was also the honorary general of the Nepalese Army. For good measure, he said that in Nepali and asked the gathering if they understood. Only one hand went up. When asked about India-Bangladesh ties, Akbar said he was “hugely tempted” to follow his colleague’s example and speak in Bangla, but decided against it as several journalists were familiar with the language. Akbar, who grew up in West Bengal and studied and worked in Kolkata, speaks fluent Bangla.