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First chair, now seat: Monika`s back, this time in Delhi fray: The Indian Express
New Delhi, Nov 10: Last year, The Sunday Express discovered that the then Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan had made her the youngest board director on any public-sector unit. And now, when Mahajan heads the BJP coordination committee for the Assembly elections, luck`s smiling again at Monika Kakkar Arora: while others await their turn, she is the new BJP candidate for Delhi`s Malviya Nagar Assembly seat.
New Delhi, Nov 10: Last year, The Sunday Express discovered that the then Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan had made her the youngest board director on any public-sector unit. And now, when Mahajan heads the BJP coordination committee for the Assembly elections, luck’s smiling again at Monika Kakkar Arora: while others await their turn, she is the new BJP candidate for Delhi’s Malviya Nagar Assembly seat.
Monika says there is nothing unusual in her appointment, that her party had decided to field more women candidates in a completely male-dominated arena. ‘‘My family, both on my in-laws’ side and my parents’, have been active pracharaks of the Sangh...Maybe God wants me to do some good for the people, which is why I have been given the ticket for Delhi elections and an opportunity to work for the people.’’
Some would say God had nothing to do with it. A member of the BJP’s youth wing, she became president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) at 20. Just nine years later, Mahajan would clear her name as one of the four directors on the 10-member board of the Rs 6,150-crore, New York Stock Exchange-listed MTNL. Her resume, attached with the ministry’s note, said she was working on a PhD in ‘Canadian studies’, and had been a ‘compere’ on several TV shows.
But it was difficult to pinpoint what qualified her to be on the board of a navratna for three years as an ‘independent director’—also called ‘‘part-time, non-official’’ director. All the other eight PSU navratnas have corporate heads, labour leaders and technocrats—including IIT, IIM faculty—as independent directors. Asked about Monika’s qualifications for the job, Mahajan had said: ‘‘Age is no bar, she is a bright, young girl.’’
Monika insists that remains the case, and that her ticket has nothing to do with Mahajan. ‘‘I have never met Mr Mahajan in my life. In fact people who are responsible for giving me the ticket are Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and V K Malhotra. My name was suggested by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and forwarded by the Sangh.’’
Her position as a part-time director on MTNL’s board stays.
She attended the last meeting on October 29,just after Diwali, to okay the unaudited results of the company for the period April to September 2003.
At the time of appointment to the board, Monika’s promise had been to be ‘‘involved in the policy decisions at MTNL’’. But after today’s development, that part-time job may become even more part-time.
Some would say God had nothing to do with it. A member of the BJP’s youth wing, she became president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) at 20. Just nine years later, Mahajan would clear her name as one of the four directors on the 10-member board of the Rs 6,150-crore, New York Stock Exchange-listed MTNL. Her resume, attached with the ministry’s note, said she was working on a PhD in ‘Canadian studies’, and had been a ‘compere’ on several TV shows.
But it was difficult to pinpoint what qualified her to be on the board of a navratna for three years as an ‘independent director’—also called ‘‘part-time, non-official’’ director. All the other eight PSU navratnas have corporate heads, labour leaders and technocrats—including IIT, IIM faculty—as independent directors. Asked about Monika’s qualifications for the job, Mahajan had said: ‘‘Age is no bar, she is a bright, young girl.’’
Monika insists that remains the case, and that her ticket has nothing to do with Mahajan. ‘‘I have never met Mr Mahajan in my life. In fact people who are responsible for giving me the ticket are Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and V K Malhotra. My name was suggested by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and forwarded by the Sangh.’’
Her position as a part-time director on MTNL’s board stays.
She attended the last meeting on October 29,just after Diwali, to okay the unaudited results of the company for the period April to September 2003.
At the time of appointment to the board, Monika’s promise had been to be ‘‘involved in the policy decisions at MTNL’’. But after today’s development, that part-time job may become even more part-time.