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It is authoritatively learnt that some of the important announcements made by the Finance Minister were never discussed by the cabinet. Nor were those proposed by the ministers with whose portfolios the announcements were concerned. The five-week old UDF ministry is engulfed in a grim political crisis which will end up in the exit of at least one minister. The crisis is the direct creation of a revised budget which Finance Minister M Mani presented to the Assembly. It is authoritatively learnt that some of the important announcements made by the Finance Minister were never discussed by the cabinet. Nor were those proposed by the ministers with whose portfolios the announcements were concerned. The Transport Minister, K K Balakrishnan was understood to have been taken aback when he heard Mani announcing the proposal to set up a new public sector transport company with Sultan Battery as its headquarters. It is likely that Balakrishnan would insist on the resignation of the Finance Minister.
No recession
Members of Parliament are exercised over reports of recessionary trends in evidence in some industries. They raised the issue at the meetings of consultative committees of economic ministries in the past two days – in the committee pertaining to the Finance Ministry and in the committee under the Industry Ministry. The ministers concerned, however, were vociferous in maintaining that such fears were unfounded. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee explained at length how the dear money policy of the Government had not inhibited production, as feared by some members. On recession, he told the committee that if there was a transformation from a sellers’ to a buyers’ market, “it is a good sign”. “The Government’s assessment is that the fear is misplaced considering the impressive overall indices of investment output and infrastructure performance,” Industry Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari told the members.
The Israeli invasion
Artillery duels broke out between Israeli and Palestinian gunners firing across the lines dividing East and West Beirut as a week-long cease-fire began to crumble. Israeli armoured cars set up roadblocks and turned back cars trying to enter Muslim West Beirut from the Christian half of the capital. An Israeli army spokesman said the roadblocks were “just an indication of what we can do.”
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