Deep Throat

Silent Non-Support

P. Chidambaram has reason enough to be unhappy. The TN Congress has given little support on the issue of his son Karti’s arrest. Barring a couple of party functionaries, no one showed up at the Delhi court when Karti was produced for extension of police remand. Few state leaders have even condemned the arrest. Whereas PC’s bête noire S. Gurumurthy went on national TV to flesh out the charges against Karti, there was hardly any counter from Congress leaders. According to a former Lok Sabha MP, father and son might have influenced people but are now realising how they missed out on winning friends.

Unaffirmative Inaction

In Bihar, every leader professes commitment to uplifting Dalits, OBCs, EBCs and other marginalised sections. But no one from these communities made it to the Rajya Sabha in the recent elections to six seats. The JD-U sent a Rajput, Vashishtha Narayan Singh, and “King” Mahendra Prasad, a Bhumihar, for another term, while the BJP renominated Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, a Kayastha. The Congress opted for Akhilesh Prasad Singh, a Bhumihar. And Laloo’s RJD nominated Manoj Jha, a Brahmin, and Ashfaque Karim, a millionaire. Former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi— a mahadalit and now Laloo’s ally—and others from underprivileged sections were kept waiting while upper-caste leaders quietly made their way to the House of Elders.

Mind Your Language

During  a recent delay at Dhaka airport immigration, an angry Indian journalist sought to know why. She was told that an additional screening for foreign journalists was the reason for the delay. Clearly not happy with the explanation, she went on to demand how the officer had failed to learn Hindi des­pite Shahrukh Khan and Hindi films being popular in Bangladesh. “Ma’am, we have our own icons to celebrate,” she was told. The journalist was also reminded that it was  Bangla and not Hindi that was the language of Bangladesh. Such faux pas by the Indian media don’t help the “ugly Indian” image abroad.

Overheard Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao has ordered a Rs 7-crore luxury bullet-proof Merc bus due to the Naxal threat. He’d already made his house a Rs 50-crore bullet-proof fort.