What’s the Flight Plan?

Meanwhile, Lalit Modi is free to fly home and Times Now had him beautifully framed by the Thames and Big Ben in the background. His hair has turned grey on account of his sacrifices for cricket but going by the camera angle, it looks like he has a nice pad not far from Lambeth Palace. “I can go out there (to India) with a straight face,” he said. “Can’t call me a fugitive because I ain’t one… I have a war plan, I am a master strategist.” Inscrutably brilliant sloganeering, as always, but that FEMA matter still awaits.

There’s trouble in the offing for people planning to marry. NewsX headlined legislation called for by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, prescribing pre-marital potency and frigidity tests to stave off growing post-marital discord. This is an idea whose time is centuries past. No serious medical researcher would give the slightest credence to the predictive value of such tests, which must measure so many factors that the result would be useless. It’s bad enough that such tests remain in use, to be wielded against sexually overwrought babajis and editors, but to make them arbiters of matrimony is odd indeed.

The unveiling of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana on Thursday drew the kind of media attention that’s usually reserved for big bang reforms. Since corporate India doesn’t seem to be getting what it wants, media must make do with celebrating the financial inclusion of the teeming millions. Actually, 15 million bank accounts opened in one working day is quite a big bang. Questions remain about the one size fits all model, and what about the huge Rs 10,000 cheques printed on flex that the Prime Minister was handing out? Specifically, where can I get my own bit of flex? I’d like to feel included, too.

pratik.kanjilal@expressindia.com