Soulmates

Upset over the IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) being charged with rape of a hotel maid in a New York hotel, our very own octogenarian leader from the Himalayan state of Uttaranchal, Narayan Dutt Tewari (NDT) sent a consoling message via jail authorities in the famous Rikers Island, New York.

NDT said that as an experienced leader he did serve the country for several decades in various positions, as chief minister of the state of Uttar Pradesh which is bigger than France, as well as chief minister of Uttaranchal. It was only at the fag end of his long career at the ripe age of 86 he was trapped in the sex tape scandal while serving as governor of Andhra Pradesh.

This was a deliberate trap, to malign his reputation and image that such sex scandal was invented. How can one expect to be with three girls at the age of 86? Some people were jealous about his vitality even at this age, NDT argued.

And as for DSK, at the age of 62 he is still young and was a prospective candidate for the French presidency next year. Being chief of IMF, he was staying in a modest hotel that cost only 3,000 dollars per night. The point is: how is that the so called sexy maid came to the high profile room at midnight to clean the room? Obviously, the trap was being laid for DSK? Similarly, they laid a trap for NDT in the Raj Bhavan in 2009 and was forced to resign as the governor.

Unfortunately, DSK was caught in a country that talks of personal freedom, but abhors sexual freedom, and wants to make a big issue out of personal sex lives. Remember what happened to their own president, Bill Clinton? What really hurts is the fact that a person who ruled the financial empire of the world like a King is held guilty even before judgment and put in a tiny cell without any facilities.

We in India are very progressive; even the criminals get all the facilities inside jail. And thankfully, being a great country we are also more tolerant with sexual misconduct of our leaders and godman than the US or France. Even after all the allegations we allow our netas to lead a pompous life, with all comforts and facilities. Our legal system is strict but there are enough loopholes for ‘genuinely great’ people like NDT.

It was clear from the past record, that DSK had a great sexual appetite. Due to the vitality, and skills he possesses, it is reported that he was well versed with seducing women, with all the gentleness. But contrary to this reputed image of DSK, the scandal of unleashing violence on a hotel maid seems to be deliberately generated to fix him. It is known that IMF was discredited due to dubious credit given to some developing economies that helped the corporations of developed countries.

It also helped the politicians and autocrats to repatriate black money to Swiss banks.  But the DSK episode has proved that those who head these institutions run the risk of being ‘blackmailed.’ It was also unfortunate that DSK was caught before the flight took off for France, a country where the chattering classes would have accepted DSK’s minor misdemeanour with a rap on the knuckles. NDT concluded his letter to DSK with words of encouragement saying that he was still young and he had the vitality to practice his skills in the coming years.