Halwa an emotional, sentimental matter for Finance Ministry staff: Sitharaman
New Delhi, Jul 30: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday defended the customary pre-budget Halwa ceremony, saying that it has been going on since budget papers were printed at a press on Minto Road, and the sweet dish was prepared by the staff themselves as an Indian tradition before the start of something auspicious.
Taking on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who dubbed the traditional halwa ceremony as "budget ka halwa", Sitharaman said it is an emotional matter for the Finance Ministry staff who spend 5 nights and 4 days in quarantine to ensure the secrecy of the Budget proposals.
"Halwa is an emotional and sentimental matter... How can you deal (with) such an important matter so lightly," Sitharaman said.
Responding to Gandhi's remark that in the halwa ceremony photo no SC, ST or OBC was being seen, Sitharaman said it became a photo event from 2013-14 when the Finance Minister in the Congress-led UPA Government went to the cellar of North Block to distribute the customary pre-budget halwa.
"Why was the halwa ceremony not cancelled at that time? You (Gandhi) had the remote control power. How many SC, ST or OBC officers were there at the ceremony at that time?" Sitharaman questioned.
She said such statistical calculation of the caste of officers present at the halwa ceremony was not done earlier in the UPA regime.
"...It is a conspiracy that is happening now and that is why this question is being asked now... Why divide people now by asking (the) caste of everyone involved?," Sitharaman said, adding that one should refrain from presenting such an emotional ceremony in poor light.
She said that Congress leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi were against reservation to SC, ST and OBCs and the leaders of the same party are now asking why they are not present in the halwa ceremony.
The minister also narrated two incidents which showed the commitment of officers attending the halwa ceremony before they enter the North Block cellar for budget printing.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
