In Top Gear

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on everything from his offer to Elon Musk to touching A.B. Bardhan’s feet

- Mathew T. George

The navratras. Dussehra. And, the big bang. Diwali. The national capital is in festive mode. Businessmen are looking perkier, for the season always loosens purse strings and unleashes a river of money into the economy. But, Delhi roads were stagnant. From almost every flyover, one could see rivers of red lights stretching in both directions. At a signal, an ambulance howled its heart out. The Audi in front pulled into a private driveway to make way. Just as the ambulance moved into the slot ahead, two small cars took its place, cutting off the Audi. When is the next break in traffic coming for him?

It was against this backdrop that Nitin Gadkari said, “If you keep buying cars at this pace, my ministry will have to add lanes at regular intervals. And, that will cost the country around ₹80,000 crore per lane.” Speaking at The Hyatt Regency, Delhi, Gadkari clarified that his ministry was only responsible for highways. He also made a strong pitch for alternative fuels and water transport. It’s all right up his alley, as he holds portfolios of road transport and highways, shipping and water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation. On September 26, Gadkari had an hour long chat with Barkha Dutt at The Town Hall, a series of conversations hosted by THE WEEK and Mojo, supported by Federal Bank, in association with Mirror Now.

The minister deployed a mix of humour, smart answers and sharp statistics to wow The Town Hall audience. He sidestepped a few questions, too. Like the one on Union Minister Uma Bharti. Answering a question from the audience about Ganga rejuvenation, Gadkari began by saying that Bharti had done good work. Barkha interrupted: “Then why was that portfolio taken away from her and given to you?” A grinning Gadkari said he would come to it as soon as he finished answering the gentleman in the audience. And, quite understandably, he never came back to it.