...They'll pass you by..
..in the wink of a young girl's eye.."
The Boss might as well have written the song for Indian politicians. The song pops into my head just like that, when I see Laloo Prasad interviewed on tv by Barkha Dutt, the other day.
Laloo is half-seated half-sprawled over a sofa seat. He is wearing a singlet and a rather bemused and resigned expression. His hand is frequently to his head, supporting it or just holding it. All fight seems to have gone out of him. And no wonder. His party strength in Lok Sabha has been reduced to just 4 in 2009, down from 24. Twenty. Four.
Lalu Yadav has lesser seats than the evergreen थाली का बैंगन Ajit Singh of Baghpat.
Four months back, Lalu was on a trip to Japan (Japan!) leading a group of Railways officials, to lecture them about the success of Indian Railways, of which he was the minister in the previous government. A year back, he gave a talk to the students of IIM-Ahmedabad, *the* most prestigious management institute in the country. 2 years back, he was vociferously demanding renaming of Patna.
Yesterday, the RPF police team assigned for his security at his bungalow in Patna was removed completely.
Renuka Chowdhury is another example. Bold, brash, outspoken, prime example of foot-in-mouth syndrome. Lost her seat, lost her cabinet post, lost her tongue.
All these adjectives put into mind yet another opinionated gasbag, Mani Shankar Aiyer. Again, lost his seat, lost his cabonet post, and not a peep out of him. But in all fairness, having been relegated to Panchayati Raj minister in the previous govt had not done anything to improve his telepresence. The only time I recall seeing him on tv over the last 2 years has been when he recently launched his book on Rajiv Gandhi.
If movie heroes live and die every Friday, then politicians live, die or get resurrected every 5 years.
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