A petition to get President Kalam has been going around the internet for over eight months now, so when amidst rumours of Shivraj Patil, Somnath Chatterjee and Pranab Mukherjee, the name Pratibha Patil came up, the blogosphere went into a tizzy. IndieQuill applauded the latest nominee (lovingly called ‘President Aunty’) and introduced her to its readers — “You know her, of course, from... er, um...” A list of pros and cons was devised. (The most convincing pro — ‘not Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’).

A victim of tokenism? Don’t feel offended, Pratibhatai, some said, after all (as Hindustaniat explains) so many before you have been token presidents — Sikh, Muslim, what’s the difference? In fact, it’s because she is difficult to oppose — India Interacts calls it “the advantages of being a lightweight”.

Try the question Grandma’s Tales puts up: why does the Union government oppose Kalam if he appears to be the people’s choice? Mixed Bag pushes further and asks for a merit-based answer, why (either) Patil or Kalam? But it adds an interesting little sidenote — Pratibha Patil’s wikipedia page was updated instantly. So, our netas have discovered the internet. Who knew?

Many are unsure if Patil can live up to Kalam — as The Utterances of a Peculiar Mindset wonders, “where is the stature?” The Indian Muslim Blog is not impressed with Pratibhatai’s history — the Mughals were not invaders as they settled down in India, and the purdah system was already there — and she is confused between purdah and hijab. Tut, tut.

... contd.