His master’s puppet

A puppet has indeed been anointed as king. We’re talking of, who else, but Tamilnadu chief minister O Panneerselvam. A couple of days ago, the puppet par excellence deviated slightly from the script prepared for him, and started to play to the gallery. This was done by putting in an appearance before the state secretariat for darshan, and receiving petitions from the public.

But alas, the new game lasted only a few days. The reason: Amma thoroughly disapproved. Notwithstanding the fact that Jayalalithaa herself regularly indulged in this ritual, she was not having her protege getting too popular. So she called the CM and reminded him of his humble origins and her role in his meteoric rise. Not surprisingly, that was the last one saw of poor Mr Panneerselvam’s attempt at becoming a people’s politician.

Tribal attack
The tribals in Kerala are on the warpath. No longer content with their lot, they’ve decided to take their destiny into their own hands. So far, so good. But this new found enthusiasm recently put their leader in a tight spot. As part of their on-going agitation for five acres of cultivable land, tribals organised under the Adivasi-Dalit Samara Samiti banner clashed with the police in front of the state secretariat.

Unfortunately, a few ruffians — most encouraged by the restraint shown by the state police — started to attack the women constables present, partially disrobing one of them in the process. That left the chairperson of the Samara Samiti CK Janu, a well known tribal activist, very red in the face. For, at that very moment he was on a sit-in in front of the CM’s official residence!

Tailpiece
Home minister LK Advani wondered aloud why Americans were scared of staying in hotels in Pakistan. He then proceeded to provide the answer. He concluded that in a Pakistani hotel, the waiter would invariably ask his guest after dinner: “Sahib, bil ladein?” (Sir, should I get the bill?) No wonder the Yanks are reticent about staying in Pakistani hotels!