JOIN US‘Pappu’ said so
Congress is making all-out efforts to tackle the ‘Pappu’ tag stuck by the BJP on Rahul Gandhi by giving wide publicity to his interventions on the Covid-19 outbreak and the Rafale deal. Rahul’s warning about an “impending tsunami” last year when the Covid-19 outbreak was first detected, was dismissed as alarmist by even a section of the Congressmen. However, with the healthcare system lying exposed during the second wave of Covid-19, Congress has seized upon Rahul’s remarks and even started wondering aloud how he would have been a better Prime Minister than Narendra Modi. Congress is also gloating over the fresh revelations of allegations of suspicious dealings in the Rafale deal and reveling in its ‘we told you so’ moment.
Sagar Kulkarni, New Delhi
Corporal punishment
A recent viral video with a teacher allegedly slapping a student repeatedly at a private coaching centre caused massive outrage among people in Kashmir. While some people demanded stern action against the teacher’s unacceptable action, some cited their childhoods to refer to ‘beating’ by teachers, which apparently was “normal” at that time. But the Kashmir’s Coaching Centers Association in damage-control mode asked people “not to read into it too much.” Instead, they should have advised teachers not to be in conflict with students and vice-versa. Unfortunately, it seems bullying, mental harassment and even physical assault is very much a norm. Corporal punishment to students is the last thing acceptable in a civilized society.
Zulfikar Majid, Srinagar
Time limit for virus
Will Covid-19 infect people only after 11 pm? This is what many in Assam are asking as the state government asked the organisers of Bihu, the state’s biggest festival to wind up their function by 11 pm. Police warned that any violation could land the festival organisers in jail as FIR would be registered against those violating the directives. “Don’t see the logic of 11 pm deadline. Will there be no Covid before 11 pm?” asked an organiser in Guwahati. “The government should prohibit the Bihu function due to Covid instead of imposing some illogical conditions. And why did not the politicians wear masks during election campaigns?” he asked. Assembly elections in Assam ended on April 6 and the Covid-19 protocols were thrown into the wind during the campaigning.
Sumir Karmakar, Guwahati
End of blame game
While Kerala earlier witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases, the ruling LDF had blamed the Congress-led UDF for staging stirs against the government by flouting social distancing norms. However, as Kerala is again witnessing a surge in Covid-19 infections, with even Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former CM Oommen Chandy getting infected, political parties are not engaged in blame games over the surge. This could be because both major political fronts gave scant regard to Covid-19 norms during the just-concluded Assembly election campaign.
Arjun Raghunath, Thiruvananthapuram
Big praise
As the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer film ‘The Big Bull’ was streamed on Hotstar, the actor perhaps received his biggest praise. Legendary Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan praised his son for the performance that is based on the life of the controversial stockbroker Harshad Mehta. After the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the film is Bollywood’s biggest opener – and Adar Poonawalla, whose company, Serum Institute of India is making Covishield, too made his point and congratulated him. “As Covid-19 cases surge once again, here is a great way to stay at home and watch my dear friend and in my opinion, one of India’s finest actors, @juniorbachchan in the story of #TheBigBull,” he said urging people to stay indoors.
Mrityunjay Bose, Mumbai