Not a generalist

Last week, even before the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the Bhopal gas tragedy was officially formed, journalists asked Home Minister P Chidambaram about the issue. Chidambaram, known for his sharp answers, first told the journalists that the GoM was yet to be formed so he would not like to comment. Later, when an overly keen journalist pushed his luck and told Chidambaram that he wanted to ask some “general” questions on Bhopal, the home minister cut him short with a terse “I am not good in general knowledge. So I can’t answer your questions”.