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No spring chicken
The mood in the Mantralaya is suddenly upbeat. Ministers and bureaucrats are walking with a spring in their step, heads erect, shoulders squared.
The mood in the Mantralaya is suddenly upbeat. Ministers and bureaucrats are walking with a spring in their step, heads erect, shoulders squared. Outgoing Chief Secretary Premkumar was in a particularly gung-ho mood, distributing copies of his photograph which appeared in the media, showing him biting into a thick, juicy piece of chicken.
The upbeat mood in the seat of the state government was all thanks to the bird of the season — chicken. While Premkumar marked his last days in the Mantralaya polishing off as many drumsticks as possible, there were visits by the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar who appealed to people to eat chicken with a vengeance. Who would have thought that Pawar would have turned out to be such a strong spokesman for chicken consumption when everyone knew his first love was sugar? Or is it cricket, now?
Pawar addressed several meetings in the Mantralaya and the theme was the same, 'garv se kaho hum murgi kathein hain'. Talking to close friends, the Union minister pointed out how the BCCI under his leadership had succeeded in persuading the visiting English cricket team to eat more and more chicken, which could compensate for losing some of their star players due to injury. Reports from Nagpur where England play their first test match against India indicated that the English cricketers were polishing off plates of tandoori chicken and tikka. The only time when Pawar used the word 'chicken' with some contempt was while referring to the 'chickening out' of former BCCI president, Jagmohan Dalmiya.
Back to the love affair between Mantralaya and chicken, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh did not lag behind. He exhorted all to stuff themselves with chicken. Everyone in the Mantralaya began sporting chicken logos on their shirts. The Mantralaya kitchen offered handsome discounts on the chicken dishes.
Vilasrao Deshmukh told his ministerial colleagues how his son, actor Ritesh Deshmukh, was spreading the chicken message among his Bollywood friends. Every single star-studded party offered chicken, thanks to Ritesh's initiative. Moved by this gesture, members of the poultry industry hinted that if any one of them switched over to film making, their hero would be Ritesh.
Another senior minister who played his role in 'Operation Chicken' was Revenue Minister Narayan Rane. He told some of the former Sainiks that the only reason the Congress lost the Konkan seat in the recent byelections was because he had gone easy on chicken and did not campaign with his usual energy.
Meanwhile, Mantralaya sources confirmed that the state government was seriously considering honouring men and women who led the chicken consumption campaign with awards, 'Chicken Shri', 'Chicken Bhushan' and 'Chicken Ratna'. Both Deshmukh and Pawar could be serious contenders for the 'Chicken Ratna' awards, according to sources.
