HAL boss says cash in hand negative. Economy cashless, says BJP leader
New Delhi, Jan 08: Pawan Khera couldn't help pressing his palm against his head in disbelief. "Priceless," said one political analyst, tweeting a howling emoticon to boot.
The reason for all this incredulity and mirth? On an Aaj Tak TV debate (which featured Khera, a Congress leader), BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain replied to a remark on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's (HAL) cash crunch like this:
"We are cashless economy people. Why do you want cash in hand?"
He said this, apparently, in all seriousness.
Now, what was the exact context? The anchor had just pointed to comments made by the HAL's CMD, R Madhavan, about the defence PSU's finances. "Our cash in hand is in the negative," Madhavan told a leading daily. "We've had to borrow close to Rs 1,000 crore as an overdraft."
When Shahnawaz Hussain replied as he did, the anchor said the panelists were having a serious discussion.
"Yes, it's a serious discussion," Hussain said. "What do you want? You want cash in hand?"
The anchor explained that the HAL boss was talking about paying employees' salaries. Pawan Khera's forehead disappeared behind his palm.
"There is no cash in hand these days," Hussain later said.
Here's a sample of reactions on Twitter, which have clips of the exchange.
I don't know why people are frothing in the mouth!
— Akash Banerjee (@akashbanerjee) January 7, 2019
Have you EVER seen a party spokesperson stun a primetime anchor into silence so quickly?
This is beyond the capability of even @sambitswaraj Ji ? pic.twitter.com/txJ3iZDY9g
Brilliant rebuttal by Shahnawaz Hussain: Why does HAL need "cash in hand" when we are a cashless economy? #KamalKeFools pic.twitter.com/552jq1iaWF
— Ruchira Chaturvedi (@RuchiraC) January 7, 2019
"Why does HAL need cash? We are a cashless economy," he says. Priceless. ??? https://t.co/XHhtKRDPzC
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) January 7, 2019
Courtesy: www.indiatoday.in
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
