President Kalam is the most popular youngster in India. There has not been, as much as one could immediately recall, a leader who has moved the youth as much as this simple man has; at least, in Free India. A man who could walk up to the child and smile, a President who would fill the garbage bin with protocols, a down-to-earth intellectual, a kind teacher, an inspiring father-figure . . . to this generation, he is just “Cool”.
Why did George Fernandes have to drag him into the mess that politics is? Why should someone try to taint an honest man? Why could the politicians not keep to themselves? That the entire art and science of politics has been filled with ranks and files of manipulators, egoists, and downright self-serving egomaniacs is no secret. The few Institutions of Supreme Court and the President’s Office that stand tall amidst the rubble are nothing less than sacrosanct. If the bigwigs of politics, in their enthusiasm to pass the buck as they are so used to, try to paint a dirty picture with their filthy brushes, would a Nation sit and watch the show?
If Contempt of Court is an offence, what should an attempt to taint the President himself be termed? Should someone be allowed to get away with such a deed that was nothing short of a blatant lie for the world to see? George Fernandes should be remembered for setting a new low in public service.