Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 26 March 2018 | Page 10

deep throat
SILENT NON-SUPPORT
P. Chidambaram has reason
enough to be unhappy. The TN
Congress has given little sup­
port 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 for­
eign 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 des­
pite 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.
10 OUTLOOK 26 March 2018