Yesterday one vernacular news channel telecast a show that allegedly criticized Sonia Gandhi. And hell broke loose in AP today. Congress activists across the state are protesting against this and are demanding unconditional apology from the channel. It is not just the activists who took to the streets but also ministers in the state cabinet. One woman leader was even crying before the cameras; she should have been in movies. Two weeks ago when ex-chief of RSS launched a diatribe against Sonia Gandhi, there was even more hullabaloo, with the chief minister of AP himself taking part in a 'dharna' on the street. We hardly see any criticism of Sonia Gandhi. When some rare voice criticizes her, it is coerced into silence by these cheap pressure tactics. I always felt there was only one person in the history of India who cannot be criticized. Now I am afraid she has become only the second such person.
I am intentionally leaving out the name of the first such person. I am afraid of mentioning his name here as it might be seen by some people as criticism. One hint: He was not Mahatma Gandhi, nor was he a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
