Sushma Swaraj's college mate

The sugarcane pricing ordinance not only created an uproar outside Parliament but also in the internal meetings of political parties as sparks flew between BJP and Congress leaders. At the Lok Sabha’s Business Advisory Council meeting last week, when BJP’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, assured the government that BJP would support efforts to offset the Rs 14,000-crore burden, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal quipped, “I thought you didn’t know about this aspect (Rs 14,000 crore were supposed to be given to the mills) of this ordinance.” Swaraj snapped at Bansal, “Do you think we are illiterates? And don’t forget we passed from the same college and studied under the same professors.”