- Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress has again managed to put foot in the mouth. Apparently the BJP's chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi elections, Kiran Bedi is "overweeningly ambitious". Apart from the patronising and condescending tone of this statement, it is also hypocritical. The most 'overweeningly ambitious' person in politics these days happens to be in Congress itself: Rahul Gandhi. What are his credentials to aspire to be the leader of a major political party, and, God forbid, the leader of the country? Fact of the matter is that he is there only because he is somebody's son - very similar to the star-kid phenomenon you get to see in all the film industries - which makes him 'overweeningly ambitious'
- Obama is here! The roads have been mopped clean, the stray dogs have been rounded up, and the cows cleared from the road leading to Agra. Alas! There has been a cancellation of the Taj trip by the Obamas. After all that! The corporation guys would be very miffed indeed: "we went through all that; things that we would never do otherwise, and then they cancel the trip!" Oh well, you can now throw out the litter, and yes, let those dogs out. If you happen to be Swachh Bharat-friendly, then hope and pray that Obama comes back again and again!
- The US President has stated that Pakistan is offering a safe haven for terrorists. Like we didn't know that for so many years! Why do these statements come out just before an official visit to India? Why not at other times, when border infiltrations occur repeatedly and bombs go off in market places frequently?
- The US also warned Pakistan against any 'misdemeanour' during the three day visit of Obama to India. How interesting! And revealing. It shows; a) that the US agrees that Pakistan indulges in terrorism and provides logistics, infrastructure and safe havens to terrorists of all hue and cry, and, b) that once Obama exits India, Pakistan can go back to its old ways of sneaking in, breaching ceasefire, and exploding bombs in our cities. Convenient or what.
- Consider what has happened in the Sunanda Pushkar affair. One year! One year has passed since she died, and now we find out that she was murdered. And during this one year, not once has Shashi Tharoor been questioned! What are the reasons behind this? That he was a Congress minister, and Congress was in power when the incident happened? Do we have to wait till the regime change for any investigation to take place? Even more alarmingly, if this could happen in a high-profile case such as this, imagine what the plight of the 'ordinary' cases is like! Justice, truly, is a myth.
- Do you want instant celebrity status? Indulge in a scam and make sure you go to jail. Yes, if the reception accorded to prominent jailbirds upon their release, such as A Raja, Kanimozhi, and most recently Janardhana Reddy is anything to go by, then it must be one smart move indeed. After all, why worry? You can carry out 'business as usual' from the jail. If you are bored, you can always come out on a furlough - whatever that is. And when you are finally released, people will line the streets and cheer you, you can wave out to the cameras, and there will be band and baja all the way to home. And yes, like Reddy, you can even select the auspicious time to be released from jail! Needless to say, you can still participate in active politics. In fact, the jail credentials will be highly beneficial for you in getting the coveted ticket during elections.
Image source: http://images.theage.com.au/2009/03/27/438337/bangalore-420x0.jpg