War of words

At the Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on coal last week, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had a war of words. When Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal pressed for clearance of some major projects, Ramesh resisted at first and then said, “I will take all these projects to the Cabinet. Let the Prime Minister overrule my decision.” Hearing this, Mukherjee lost his cool and sternly told Ramesh, “Forget about sending the proposals to the Cabinet. You first bring them here in this GoM and then we will decide.”