Cool Breeze: Benefit of Doubt

 

Politicking has already begun for the Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu slated for this year. Recently, at a public function after conducting a mass marriage, AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa narrated a story about a father-son feud and though she refrained from mentioning Karunanidhi and Stalin, it was clear whom she was referring to. According to the story, a son requests his father (a politician) to teach him politics. The father warns his son, saying politics is dangerous. However, when the son insists, the father asks his son to climb a ladder to reach the loft, which has an account of all his corruption and dirty tricks in politics, which could be a lesson to the son. The son climbs the ladder, but his father lets it go halfway. The son falls and is angry that the father betrayed him. But when he asks his father why he let him down, the father retorts that if you learn all the tricks in politics who will respect me. Jayalalithaa then concludes saying “I am relating this story only to show how dangerous politics is. I am not responsible if you imagine someone else.” Not to be fooled by this thinly veiled reference, an angry DMK chief, M. Karunanidhi shot back by saying, “no father would ever want to see his son fall from the ladder”. 

 

Last week, former Finance Minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha was quoted in the media of being critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a conference in Goa. Since Sinha is not one of the PM’s cheerleaders, the media was quick to play this up. What is interesting is that the first clarification and contradiction was issued not by Sinha Sr, but he was pre-empted by his son Jayant Sinha, who is the Minister of State for Finance. Sinha Jr wasted no time in tweeting that his father had been misquoted and had already called up the news agency to issue a contradiction. Well that’s called balancing the political account books for sure.

 

Arvind Kejriwal’s attire on Republic Day, when he attended the parade in sandals raised quite a few eyebrows. A businessman from Vishakhapatnam took a progressive step and sent the Delhi CM a cheque for Rs 364 to buy a pair of shoes. When asked by the media where anyone could get a pair of shoes for Rs 364, he retorted “on Amazon”. Clearly, that’s one for e-commerce.