Age is just a number, says Virbhadra Singh

A day after the defeat of the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who is in his late 80s, was asked what he thought of the fact that Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy could be replaced by V S Achuthanandan, who is 93 years old. Singh's reply: "Age is just a number. What matters is how useful an individual is, how much credibility he has and what his standing is among the people." Given the somewhat rocky relationship between Singh and the Congress high command, there was speculation about what he actually meant by this quip.