Of course, not all Indian politicians are shy about demonstrating their quickness of wit. At the launch of the LPG transparency portal on Friday, the executives of oil companies were giving a demonstration of its usefulness. The consumer number of one of the journalists was used to show how the portal works. The journalist had used three subsidised gas cylinders over the past year. Many insisted that the consumer profile of Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy should also be shown. The portal showed that the minister got 26 subsidised cylinders in the past year. It turned out that was modest by politicians’ standards; the new portal also shows former Telecom Minister A Raja consumes as many as 47 a year; former Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan gets 60; and Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal’s house gets delivered 369 a year, meaning the taxpayer subsidises his kitchens by Rs 1.27 lakh.
Mr Reddy, knowing that this would all soon be known, headed off any criticism even before the page opened up, saying quickly, as it loaded, that he receives more guests and so his would show more subsidy. “This only shows how popular I am as an MP,” he added.