An Interview that no one remembers...

If you can roll back the clock by a little more than one year, there are chances that you might remember reading the interview of Nalini Chidambaram, the wife of Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. In the interest of the developments last week, this interview - especially the last question sounds very interesting.

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Q: You are a high profile and a successful legal practitioner. Tax laws have been your favourite subject. We were informed that, as your husband heads the finance ministry, you are not going to practise on the subjects and areas coming under FM's domain. What prompted you for such a sacrifice?

A: Sacrifice is a misnomer. It is not a case of being influenced by him in my professional duties. As a matter of probity in public life, I have taken such a decision. Of course, my favourite subject is taxation: Income Tax, Customs and Excise are the branches I like the most. But I want to instill confidence in the minds of the people about politicians' families.

I want to impress upon the public that political families can also be honest. I think Dr Manmohan Singh and my husband are epitomes of efficiency and integrity. I do not want to again use a cliche -- but such a combination is rare in politics.

With more and more youngsters coming into politics I feel that the stock of politicians will go up since youngsters are idealists.
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Going by Indian political standards, P.Chidambaram hasn't done anything wrong. Given his reputation for honesty, the argument that he was not aware of his wife appearing on behalf of a department coming under his domain could very well be true. But, would Nalini Chidambaram wasn't aware that her husband is the Finance Minister of the country. This writer feels that the controversy that erupted could very well have been avoided and Palaniappan Chidambaram's name need not have been dragged into the headlines for wrong reasons.