Ego clashes

The embarrassment that the BJP-led government faced in the Rajya Sabha this week over its refusal to allow a listed discussion on the situation in Gaza (which was subsequently allowed by the Chairman) is being attributed in some quarters to an ego clash between the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. Jaitley and Swaraj's ego tussle is not new and for long has been staple fodder for BJP party circles. So, when Jaitley agreed to taking up the short-duration discussion on the issue in the Rajya Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkiah Naidu was aware of it but Swaraj was not. Apparently when Swaraj as External Affairs Minister got to know of it at the last moment, she was displeased at not being consulted and refused to allow such a discussion, stating that the issue "didn't directly concern the government of India".