Pink cover for white elephants ?

The season before Christmas is often referred to as the " silly season" in many western countries. The term can also be best used to describe the pre election period in India.


Just look at the order to cover all the statue of elephants in Lucknow and other parts of UP before the elections. Do we seriously believe that people won't know that the statues are in there just by covering them with a pink cloth ? And the amount of money spent on this exercise .....Rs. 1 crore !!!!!


To put this amount in context, a recent study put the percentage of severe malnutrition in children less than 5 years at nearly 20%, i.e. almost 1 in every 5 children. According to figures publicly available from Akshaya Patra, a NGO that provides meals to children, the average cost of a daily meal is approximately Rs. 6.


So, the same money that could have been used to feed nearly 4500 children one meal for a whole YEAR is used to cover statues of elephants.


While we are used to blaming politicians for most issues in our society ( and in this case, it all started from them), sometimes we have to wonder at the logic behind orders like these.


Why only stop at elephants ? The humble "bicycle" is the symbol of another major party...so, should all bicycles be covered in pink cloth ? No "lotus" should be allowed to bloom anywhere during the election period, instead they should be covered with pink cloth......and if we really want to be fair across the political spectrum......my "Hand" should be covered in pink cloth as well, lest someone votes for a party just because I raised my hand.


Well...being the eternal optimist......atleast they left the real elephants alone !