Things our netas say

A popular stand-up comedian once thanked his stars he was born in India. He didn't really have to think too hard for material; half an hour of the daily news was enough to provide fodder for a dozen or more shows.

Now who can refute this, especially in the light of minister Satyapal Singh's take on Darwin's theory of evolution: "None of our ancestors has seen an ape turning into a man."

That he thinks evolution is as quick and snappy as instant coffee would have been funny had it not been for the fact that he heads a department overseeing the functioning of India's education system.

Clearly, he knows his mythology more than his science. He had earlier called for IIT students to be taught about the 'pushpaka vimana', a mythical flying chariot mentioned in the 'Ramayana'.

So unless he had the privilege of hitching a ride in the contraption, it is safe to say he doesn't always go by the principle of 'seeing is believing'.

Politicians and science have had a somewhat troubled relationship. Time and again, they have blurted out things
that make dead scientists squirm in their graves and existing ones scratch their heads.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed the elephant head of god Ganesha was a shining example of plastic surgery. Devnani Vasudev, Rajasthan's education minister, extolled
the cow as the only animal that 'exhales oxygen'.

As if this were not enough, he claimed cow dung has enough vitamin B to soak up radioactivity. That left the populace wondering about what was better: standing in front of the cow or the back.

There are more such gems. BJP member Shankarbhai N claimed cow dung and urine could treat cancer while Union minister Radha Mohan Singh wanted farmers to try their hand at 'yogic' farming to send out vibrations of peace and love across the land.

Ignorance does not discriminate between parties.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress stalwart, said people do nothing but produce babies during power cuts. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said Rs 600 a month was enough to feed a family of five. And Mamata Banerjee, firebrand chief minister of West Bengal, attributed a rise in rape cases to free interaction between men and women.

The list goes on.

Oh, and in other news, the hands of the Doomsday Clock stand at two minutes to midnight, closer than they have ever been. Just saying!