It is a measure of the popularity of Labour and Employment Minister Oscar Fernandes among his colleagues and his closeness to party chief Sonia Gandhi that his statement linking excessive use of contract labour with the lynching of L K Choudhary (CEO of an Italian auto-parts manufacturer in Greater Noida) didn't get played up beyond a point.
After a meeting with senior Cabinet colleagues, after which Fernandes issued the obligatory 'I've-been-misunderstood statement,' the matter died a natural death.
How close Fernandes is to Gandhi, of course, is best seen from Gandhi's reaction when he was sworn in as a minister in 2006. "It's a great loss for the party that he had to be spared for ministerial duties; he is such a hard worker that it's impossible to find a replacement," Gandhi said amidst the chandelier-lit celebrations at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
One of her most trusted lieutenants, A K Antony, had also been inducted as the defence minister minutes before this. But Gandhi mentioned only Fernandes.
Text: Saubhadra Chatterji, Business Standard
Image: Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes. Raveendran/AFP/Getty Images
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