Mamata's zoo story

While Modi was waxing eloquent in Delhi on the importance of development, the unpredictable West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was advising the trade union leaders of Kolkata’s zoo to treat the animals there as part of their extended family. “If the animals are happy, then the people in the city will also be happy,” she told nonplussed labour representatives. That just might make her an unintentional poster girl for animal rights activists, but her statement must have had trade union members worried. The animals at the Alipore Zoo live in the most appalling conditions, so their keepers might wonder whether Banerjee is suggesting the same treatment for them.