Mean mode

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin is known for setting strict ground rules at media briefings. One of the rules is that a journalist can ask only one question. So when a journalist asked two questions at a recent briefing, Akbaruddin curtly replied that the second question could be asked by anyone else on behalf of that journalist. As another journalist obligingly complied, someone yelled that he (Akbaruddin) was being "mean". The spokesman didn't miss a beat when he replied: "Yes, I am lean and mean."