Empty Cabinet

It was a live reporting and was using the telepathy-based communication technologies that was developed during Mahabharata. Sanjaya was reporting to Dhritarashtra the important meeting that took place in Bharata. times. The technology did not require any bugs to be placed. All he had to was to meditate on the meeting and his soul could travel to the venue of the meeting.

The leader had called for a meeting of the Council of Ministers (COM) to give them a briefing on the calamity of Corona that the country was facing today. The ministers had come in time and as per protocol were all sporting a mask. They were quite happy to do as they could very well mask their emotions and feelings too. They wondered in nervousness what was in store in that meeting.

Leader opened his mouth and shared his ‘mann ki baat’ different from the one he delivers to the masses. He mentioned how little he sleeps these days as every cell in his mind and body was pre-occupied with the titanic problem of Corona. He was just about keeping fit with yoga and pranayama. Luckily, he had taken the two shots and he hoped the vaccinations would stand him in good stead.

As told to the SC, he mentioned how he and his deputy were doing mid-night oil to take care of the Oxygen supply. He had also met with the Chief of Defence Staff and the Air Vice Marshal and got a brief from them about their readiness to lend a helping hand should there be any requirement. The Defence Minister just cleared his throat and when the leader looked at him in askance just nodded his head as if in agreement.

The deputy chief stood up and praised the leader sky high. Who else but him as he pointed to the leader could lead us from the darkness of Corona unto the light? He was very nervous inside as the exit poll particularly indicated a victory for the didi. He was hoping that the blame could be apportioned to the party president. He also briefed that the elected leader of the Capital state has been neutralized and it is the LG who remains supreme now since the notification of the Act. But unfortunately, LG is not having a good life now as he was tested to be COVID positive. He looked at the assembly of ministers who on taking a cue clapped. It has been sometime that they clapped their hands and almost forgotten how to clap.

There was an eerie calm. After all it was the meeting of the COM. Then the leader said if there were no questions one should call the meeting to an end as there was much to do.

The finance minister was much relieved. Nobody had asked her about the video uploaded in YouTube by her husband which has been very critical of the COVID management by the Government. Luckily for her the viewership was not that good and she escaped scrutiny on that count. She was also worried if anyone were to ask about green shoots in the economy. She was sure that they all must have died a natural death. For the first time in 14 years India had stood with a bowl in the world’s stage and asked for aid. How soon the slide has come she thought.

The minister of foreign affairs who shares her ethnicity gently prodded her for a cup of coffee. He confessed that India has become a sort of laughing stock in the world with country after country offering some aid. Unlike earlier times the world leaders never pick up his call these days. It was left to some undersecretary who talks to him now-a-days.

The defence minister who walked by over heard this conversation and confessed to them that he was just waiting for the new Rafale’s to arrive so that he can make arrangement to do some puja for them and keep himself busy. Alas, he said that this time around there was no foreign hand. There was no scope for bravado or deep strike.

The defence minister further said that he had the grapevine that the health minister had quit his chairmanship position at WHO anticipating criticism from the board members about handling of COVID. India has become a threat to the world and more over he had made a statement that India was much better prepared to handle COVID than it was in 2020. That has become the joke of 2021.

The fire brand Girbull Singh was absent by his total silence. He was still recovering from COVID and all his intake of native medicines had proved to quite a dud. He had to resort to the anti-biotics and his constitution had taken a beating.

The finance minister asked quietly, as if the walls had ears, “what happened to the IT cell?” The Defence Minister the IT cell was facing a tsunami of outrage against COVID management. It just about managed to pull down 50 odd posting in twitter. But Facebook apologised for taking down #ResignModi and put it back. As if this was not enough the SC had categorically informed the government that it could remain a mute witness if government were to suppress social media SOS calls by the public. He further added that ‘one nation many vaccine price’ was also boiling over and it may happen that SC may nudge to keep one price. It would be a victory of sorts for the Pappu whose stock is raising amid Corona times. Pappu seems to have graduated and his voice is making sense.

They had all finished their coffee and bid good bye to each other.