Civil Aviation Minister Madhavrao Scindia, another close friend of Rajiv Gandhi’s and a maharaja to boot, resigned his post, owning moral responsibility for the mishap and the mess-up. The prime minister promptly accepted his resignation. Scindia was flummoxed! PV was not inclined to accept the resignation but was irritated by the minister’s bravado. He had sent word to Scindia asking him to withdraw his resignation. Scindia wanted the prime minister to reject it. That way he could occupy the high moral ground of having offered to quit and yet retain his job as an expression of respect for the
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