Blacked out colour code

Congress legislators in Chhattisgarh were asked to wear black to the Assembly on Tuesday as a mark of protest against the ruling party's lack of action after the Naxalite ambush at Darba, in which its key leaders were killed on May 25. But any impact of the protest was lost since most MLAs could not comply with the colour code in full. Some wore black kurtas but white pajamas or churidars, others wore a token black jacket and one MLA was so colour-blind as to wear a blue suit. As for the women MLAs, their black saris all had gay designs - scarcely a mark of protest or mourning - and one of them did not manage even that, though she had stoutly denied the help of a fellow-MLA in acquiring one the day before.