THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Shashi Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, was conferred the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur” (also known as the Knight of the Legion of Honour) the top French civilian honour, at a ceremony in Delhi recently, by Gérard Larcher, Chairman of the French Senate, on behalf of the President of the French Republic for his efforts to deepen the ties between India-France, commitment to international peace and cooperation, and for being a long-standing friend of France.
Speaking at the event, the former union minister recalled what he called a defining moment during a 2002 trip to France. “Our Indian group of writers, returning from a reception at the majestic Hotel de Ville, found themselves accidental witnesses to the interment of the nineteenth-century novelist Alexandre Dumas, more than a century after his death, in the magnificently lit Pantheon,” he recalled. And added “The Roman columns of this great Parisian monument were bathed in purple, red and blue light, a military band played outside, while an honour guard escorted the coffin of the author of The Three Musketeers to its final resting place. Ananthamurthy, the veteran novelist, who was the doyen of our group, put it simply to me. ‘The French,’ he said, ‘really know how to honour their writers.’ May I now add: I am glad they are honouring ours too,” Tharoor said with a smile.
Instituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Légion d’honneur is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.
What was equally interesting was that Tharoor’s acceptance speech was delivered in fluent French. As Larcher revealed, it was during Tharoor’s stint at the UN that the former diplomat honed his French, and part of his learning technique included watching French movies with subtitles as well as reading Tintin and Asterix comics.
READ BETWEEN THE LINES
Zeeshan Siddiqui, a former Mumbai Youth Congress president, joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP recently. On his exit he tweeted that “It looks like his (Rahul Gandhi’s) team has taken ‘supari’ from other parties to finish Congress. During Bharat Jodo Yatra in Nanded, I was told by one of the persons close to Rahul Gandhi that I should lose 10 kg of weight and then he would make me meet him…” To which another former Congress leader, Praful Patel tweeted in reply, “Ah the irony! What the present Congress leaders are feeling frustrated about today is what we had realised decades ago. That is why I bid adieu to the Congress with Pawar Saheb and the NCP was born.”
Given the fact that Praful Patel has since left “Pawar Saheb”, taking the NCP along with him, one wonders as to whether the message was for the Congress, or for his former mentor who is still doing business with Rahul Gandhi’s party.
The Exit Game
With the exit door from the Congress wide open, there is intense speculation as to which leader will be the next to quit. The names that are doing the rounds include Kamal Nath, Manish Tewari and Salman Khurshid. While Kamal Nath is keeping it ambiguous, Manish has dismissed the rumours outright. However, Khurshid’s case is more circumstantial than anything else. During the seat-sharing talks finalised between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, his Lok Sabha constituency of Farrukhabad was given away to the SP. So, if he wants to contest, it would be as an Independent. What set off the above speculation is a tweet by him where he commented wryly that while he may break he will not bend before any circumstance that destiny has planned for him. Khurshid is one of the few members of the older guard who has remained one of Rahul Gandhi’s staunch defenders, so it would be interesting to watch his moves in the coming weeks.