The day the first report against him appeared, Khurana met Vajpayee, who was sympathetic and asked him not to be unduly concerned. Thus, there is no chance of Swaraj ascending to the Cabinet in the near future. The speaker said no. The latter, however, is not convinced, and has taken up the matter formally with Defence Minister George Fernandes . Choudhary, a former air force pilot who joined politics at the behest of Rajiv Gandhi , is keen to ameliorate the lot of ex-servicemen.
Pension is one area of widespread discontent.
Successive governments have failed to revise the pension scales. A joke doing the rounds of the Capital's bureaucratic circles has it that Kayasths alone represent the creme de la creme of India's babudom . In the matter of postings, transfers, promotions, et al the order of priority is 'the Uttar Pradesh cadre Kayasth IAS officers followed by Kayasth IAS officers from any cadre, and then UP cadre IAS officers'.