Hai Ram!

After the scuffle between Samajwadi Party’s (SP’s) Amar Singh and BJP’s Surinder Singh Ahluwalia in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, it was apparent that the tension was just political theatre. While Amar Singh was trying to distance himself from the saffron brigade, the BJP saw in this an opportunity to renew its appeal to the Hindu forces. After the House was adjourned, Ahluwalia walked up to Singh and was heard saying, “Arre yaar, why are you hitting a sardar (Ahluwalia is a Sikh) for the sake of Muslims?” On this, Jairam Ramesh, known for his quirky one-liners, had his own comeback, “Sir( to Amar Singh), if you object to Jai Shree Ram, then people won’t be able to take my name. Don’t worry, Rajya Sabha can have both Jai Shree Ram as well as plain Jairam.”