Birthday Gal!

You might want to send an e-card to Madam President on her birthday.

After the story of Madam's exclusive private airport at Amravati broke, evidently some damage control is being attempted. First Madam actually issued a statement that the airport was meant for Vidarbha.

President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday said that the proposed new airport being built at Amravati is not for her convenience, but is part of the Maharashtra State Government’s initiatives for the development of the Vidarbha region. “The proposed new Airport is one of the various initiatives of the Government of Maharashtra for the development of Vidarbha region and not aimed at the convenience of the President,” a statement released by the Rashtrapati Bhavan stated. [link]

This is an astonishing claim given that there is already a decent airport at Nagpur, right in the region. Of course it is not clear if the airport will be of any help to the debt ridden farmers anyway.

On the occasion of the President's first birthday since assuming office, the spin machine wasn't going to let go of the opportunity:

It was the first Presidential birthday in many years to be celebrated outside the grandeur of the Raisina Hill. First Lady Pratibha Patil celebrated her 73rd birthday with the destitute and the mentally challenged in their homes, in complete contrast to her predecessor Kalam, whose birthday celebrations looked more like Children's Day celebrations inside Raisina Hill.[link]

The obvious jab at President Kalam almost jumps out at you from that statement. Now, the claim of this being the first Presidential birthday outside the grandeur of Raisina Hill, how valid is that?

2006: New Delhi, Oct. 15 (PTI): The President, A P J Abdul Kalam, today celebrated his 75th birthday with spastic children in Bangalore. [link]

2005: Governor Sushil Kumar Shinde greeting President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on his 74th birthday at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad on Saturday. [link]

2004: BANGALORE: President of India, Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam today turned 73, celebrating his birthday outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan. [link]

2003: SURAT OCT. 15. The president, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, today celebrated his 73rd birthday among religious heads and children at Surat in south Gujarat. [link]

2002: CHENNAI Oct. 15 . The Governor and the Chief Minister have conveyed their greetings to the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on the occasion of his 72nd birthday. [link] [Oops! Finally it looks like he is on Raisina Hill! We found one!]

Also, disingenuous use of the phrase: whose birthday celebrations looked more like Children's Day celebrations. Careful with Children's day, never ever use that flippantly. Celebrating Children's Day in style is high up on the social justice scale.

A lot of these spins rely on the short-term memory of the public. The second trick is to repeat them often.