Targets of footwear missiles run victory lap

It may be just a coincidence,but all the political leaders who were targets of 'shoe' missiles in the run-up to the general elections have emerged winners....

It may be just a coincidence,but all the political leaders who were targets of ‘shoe’ missiles in the run-up to the general elections have emerged winners.

While Home Minister P Chidambaram,BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani and industrialist Naveen Jindal have won their own elections,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,who did not contest the polls,has emerged winner in terms of Congress-led UPA returning to power.

Besides,Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has ensured a victory for his son B Y Raghavendra in the polls.

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Singh,Chidambaram,Advani,Jindal and Yeddyurappa were among the political leaders who were targetted during the campaign,although none of them were hit actually.

The Prime Minister,too,was targetted when a student hurled a sneaker towards him when he was addressing his first poll rally in Gujarat.

Last month,a slipper was also lobbed at Advani by a former BJP worker during a public meeting,while a retired school headmaster threw a footwear at Congress candidate in Kurukshetra Navin Jindal during a poll rally.

It all started with journalist Jarnail Singh,who hurled a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram on April 8,protesting against the clean chit given by the CBI to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

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The Karnataka Chief Minister also became a target at an election meeting in Hassan district,150 km from Bangalore,late last month.

Algerian-French artist’s work vandalised at Kochi art gallery over ‘obscenity’ allegations

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Algerian-French artist Hanan Benammar's linocut prints were vandalised by two artists at an international exhibition in Kochi. The exhibition, curated by Anushka Rajendran and Damian Christinger, was organised by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi and opened on October 18.

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