A Strong Disciplinarian and A Great Stickler of Rules

As Petroleum Minister T.R. Baalu had courage to introduce some refreshing changes in the hitherto practice of using discretionary quota for allotmentment of various commodities like petrol, diesel, gas and kerosene dealerships followed by his predecessor Ministers. Demonstrating a strong resolve, he scrapped this policy and ensured that there was no discretionary allotment of petrol pumps and gas agencies during his entire tenure. He was so strict that he did not even sanction a single gas connection to individuals on out-of-turn basis whereas his predecessors and successors had made such allotments in thousands. Because of his efforts, the discretionary quota of 100 gas connections in a year given to Members of Parliament was also done away with by the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

A hilarious story of Baalu’s stint as Petroleum Minister on gas connection quota would always be remembered. An official in-charge of the distribution of the coupons to MPs under the discretionary quota for gas connection was said to have narrated an interesting episode. After receiving his quota coupon-book containing 25 gas connection leaves which one is entitled in a quarter of three months, an MP asked the official concerned to tell him the names of those MPs who had not bothered to take the coupon-book so that he could request them and get those coupons. The official friend started telling the names. The first name was that of PM; The MP asked for the name of somebody else who had not taken the coupons. The reply of this official was disappointing. He mentioned that the Home Minister had not taken the coupon book. Irritated, the MP asked the official for other names. The official curtly told him that the only other person who had not yet cared to receive the coupon-book was the Petroleum Minister himself. Frustrated, without telling a word the MP went away.

As a Minister he was strict in observing the hierarchy of the bureaucracy. On one occasion, he noted that the Secretary in the Petroleum Ministry, despite the Prime Minister asking him for a discussion on a paper, had not done it and chose to send a reply from the Minister. Thiru T.R. Baalu took a serious exception to such an attitude of a senior official of the level of Secretary to the Government of India and did not mince his words while pointing out such a callous attitude and told that senior officers respect the system. Similarly, he had the courage and conviction to tell even the Prime Minister, if he felt that a matter had to be dealt that way. Once a visitor was given an appointment and to his surprise the visitor was accompanied by another person. He did not accept it and asked the visitor as to who was he and why did he accompany him where the appointment was only to him. The visitor mentioned about the identity of his companion and informed that he is his company’s representative at his New Delhi office. On knowing that the companion belongs to the same family of a person who had been put in the list of undesirable persons by the Government of India, with whom no Government Official is supposed to have any link or to entertain such a person in his office Minister asked to visitor’s companion to leave his chamber. By that time the Coffee ordered for the visitor had come and without caring for any formalities or niceties, asked the companion to go out his chamber. Later in the evening the then Prime Minister called up Thiru T.R. Baalu on phone and enquired about the matter represented by the visitor. The matter related to a tender floated by one of the premier public section undertaking. Thiru T.R. Baalu calmly explained the facts to Prime Minister and enquired if he was interested in the matter. He also assured that he would see to it but if any injustice had been done to the petitioner justice would be meted out to the petitioner. The next day the Minister went on an official visit to Orissa for inaugurating an LPG bottling Plant of IOC at a place near Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa. The then Parliament Affairs and Tourism Minister Thiru Srikant Jena also participated in the function. After returning to Delhi on the following day, which happened to be a Saturday, the Minister had a detailed discussion on the report given by the oil company on the matter. Thereafter he went met the Prime Minister at his Race Course residence and explained to him on the correctness of the tender procedure followed in the matter. While on the way back from the Prime Minister’s residence, the news was broken that Thiru Sitaram Kesari, the then Congress President had gone to the President informing that the Congress Party had withdrawn support to the United Front Government.