FORMER chief minister Digvijay Singh had a Shashi Tharoor moment in Indore where he inaugurated a pub a couple of days ago. When asked for, the AICC general secretary’s aashirwad (blessings) to the pub owner was, let people come in large number, get drunk and make merry (Khub aaye, khub piye aur pee kar pade rahe). A joke is not a joke in the days of ubiquitous television cameras and microphones that pick up every sound that can be processed into ‘breaking news.’ Singh had found nothing wrong in the idea of pub saying it was a modern equivalent of maikhanas of the past. Yet, he offered a semblance of an apology for his aashirwad in Raipur, where another horde was waiting with cameras to seek his explanation.

No snake show, despite Jairam’s apology

UNION Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh’s photograph holding a snake has jeopardised a very popular snake show in Bhopal’s Van Vihar, following protests by some NGOs. Even visitors, including children, to the national park hold the same non-poisonous snake during the show, a weekly feature. The idea behind the show is to create awareness among masses. While the minister has already apologised, the Van Vihar management has sought a clarification from the PCCF (wildlife) whether the show should continue. The management argued that the number of snakes rescued and brought to Van Vihar after the show began has gone up five times suggesting that the snakes were getting killed before. 

Mere bestowing title not enough for teachers

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