Tharoor and Twitter

It is strange to see a tweet making it to the front page in a country where 35% of population is illiterate and a significantly higher percent (including my parents) do not understand social media. Nevertheless, Tharoor succeeded in getting away with it and Congress got some publicity for the austerity campaign. It is a win-win situation. Shobaa De (who btw doesn't know it is tweeting and not twittering. What a n00b!) says it is cool as long as they pay for it. Chetan Bhagat talks about how our netas should improve their sense of humour.

But is it all that simple? If you are reading this post, you think it is. But imagine reading about it in the newspaper about some minister who refused to stay in his house because there was no gym there and called common people cows on the internet. What kind of an impression would it create?

I totally agree that the congress austerity campaign is merely an act of tokenism and all the hue and cry about Tharoor's comments doesn't make sense. But when you are representing people you should ensure that all of them understand the context of your statements especially when they are made about them. It doesn't create a good impression when you publicly refuse your accomodation and pay (may be out of your pocket) for a 5-star hotel when half of the people that you represent do not have food to eat. So should he be a saint and abandon his comfortable life? No. All I am saying is do not act in a way which thrusts into their face, the disparity in your lifestyle and theirs.

We (Web aware Indians) constitue a very small portion of the electorate and if we lose an able leader like Tharoor just because a lot of others cannot relate to him or his lifestyle, it would be sad. And the media should also be responsible enough to give a complete background of the situation before putting it on the front page.