UNQUOTABLE QUOTES OF OUR POLITICIANS

“Ram was a bad husband!”, “Rahul Gandhi is like a groom’s mount”, “Kejriwal’s expose’ are like those of Rakhi Sawant, both lack substance”, these are some unquotable quotes of our worthy politicians. I have just picked up the latest gems, of course there are even more priceless ones which have been uttered by these so called leaders. I have often wondered, as to why does the media give these worthless mutterings so much of coverage. Is it just to stoke a controversy to remain in circulation, as these sound bites are the only means by which some of these men remain in news, or is it because we are so stupidly sensitive that we take an offence where at best it is an individual’s opinion, which he/ she is entitled to. We are at a liberty to just ignore them, as most of them don’t even merit any attention at all. There are major issues of concern which media refuses to take to their logical conclusion, but are content following these banal accusations and the brouhaha which follows. Our politicians of course suffer from the foot in the mouth disease since long and there are many instances, which we all are aware, but then selective amnesia and the so called, “quote out of context”, or simply the “twist in the statements” is adequate to get them off the hook. We know the libel laws in this country are as good as nonexistent and one can get away with any nonsense and this acts as an insurance. We are an argumentative race, that is widely acknowledged and to that extent, our scientists, artists and even bureaucrats are not far behind. Girish Karnad was in the news recently for having run down Sir Vidia first and then committed the sacrilege of criticising the highly revered Gurudev Ravindranath Tagore’s capabilities as a playwright. Mind you he had words of praise for his poetry though and may be that is why there is no fatwa on his head as yet, else Didi, by now would have launched a massive agitation supported by the bhadralok. Whether Ram was a good or bad husband is a matter of an individual’s perception and in a nation where we are aware that religious sensitivities are always on a short fuse, one ought to be cautious and follow the adage “discretion is the better part of valour”. But these provocateurs would lose their relevance if they exercise this caution and it is obviously on purpose. One would love to ask him whether he is prepared to be an agnostic in a political outfit which swears by this mythological hero. The political discourse has touched the nadir with comparisons with mosquitoes and their breeds, we wonder whether we will ever get the benefit of an intellectually stimulating debate?