Coining innovative English alphabet primers for the Indian public seems to be the order of the day.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi recently coined one A-B-C-D learner to launch a blistering attack on the Congress in Jaipur, while angry I&B Minister and Congress leader Manish Tewari angrily extended it to F and G.
But the phenomenon is not confined to the political arena alone, the government officials are also catching on the trend.
Not so long ago, Social Welfare Ministry was at wit’s end trying to crack the primer the Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare wrote to explain a new welfare measure.
Not quite able to fathom how a daughter gets to benefit from a retired government employee father’s pension, once he is dead, the Ministry wanted some guidance. Instead it got a primer from the managers of Pension Department.
This is how, the Department explained, a daughter can become eligible for her deceased government servant father’s pension.
It all remains in the family: When Shri A, a pensioner dies, he is survived by his wife Smt B, son Shri C and daughter Kumar D. The daughter Kumar D is the youngest. Kumar D, the daughter, is not eligible when the father dies.
The pension goes to Smt B, who too dies after a few years. The pension then goes to Shri C, who’s a disabled. Meanwhile, Kumar D gets married but is either widowed or divorced without income. Once Shri C dies, the pension goes to (Kumari) D.
But, D, the widowed/divorced daughter without income, is eligible for the deceased father Shri A’s pension, till the time she gets to earn livelihood equal to or more than the sum of minimum family pension and dearness relief thereon.
The memorandum, or this rigmarole of rule, was issued on September 11.