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ShareIn contrast to his sartorially sensitive predecessor Shivraj Patil whose performance as a minister left much to be desired, Union home minister P Chidambaram is emerging as a man of plans as well as action. Communication is the crux of the matter.
Chidambaram meets his bureaucrats regularly to learn and inform, works on critical issues with opposition-run state governments and keeps an open door for the media, holding a monthly press briefing on the key issues of the moment. The perception has grown that he means business and the ministry is now in capable hands.
As part of this outreach Chidambaram, in a meeting of Congress workers in Madurai, let it be known to Pakistan that any repeat of a November 26-type terror attack will lead to Indian retaliation.
This was the clearest way of telling the people at home that the government is both prepared to face the challenge of terror from across the border and also ready to give a fitting reply. This is not just sabre-rattling. It is a way of building public opinion at home and abroad about the government's planned response.
As finance minister Chidambaram was seen as remote, less a politician and more a technocrat who did not seem to feel the need to connect with people about bread and butter issues. As home minister the same man seems to have found his common touch, speaking in a language understood by the common man.
On the face of it, Chidambaram is an unlikely candidate for the role of a tough-as-nails minister dealing with internal security. He has always projected the image of a soft-spoken, Harvard-educated lawyer and corporate affairs man. This is an image change for him.
If he were just attending to the image makeover, then he would not inspire much confidence. But he is doing more. Yet the sheer scale of the problems before him must be considered. Maoist violence, terrorism, militancy in Kashmir; the home minister's cup overfloweth. His ultimate test will be how he handles these and other related issues. He will have to show firmness, flexibility and nimbleness but also conviction.
Merely being a contrast to a sluggish predecessor will not be enough. In the end, it will be results that will matter. Even so, there is at least a sense of urgency and competence that has been missing in this crucial ministry for a long time. That by itself is something that is comforting.
