Army officer gives it off to 'Modi bhakt' using ATM queue to talk of patriotism

Long, twisted queues are a gift that keeps giving in post-demonetisation India: they have spawned a curious league of patriots who believe guarding the formidable borders of our country is much like waiting for your 120-second affair with the ATM machine to begin, while it still has cash.

Should a fellow Indian run out of patience in those precious moments, or hours, and wonder why the masterstroke was mismanaged at the cost of honest, taxpayers' time, these ATM patriots conduct a surgical strike by defending the demonetisation blitzkrieg with their stand-in-queue-because-the-Army-does argument.

Shaheed Hanumanthappa waited 6days,35ft under snow,in-45°C,in hope of being rescued.Surely,we can wait few hrs in line to rescue Our Nation pic.twitter.com/TKvpsZ3KCH

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) November 14, 2016

It makes for great entertainment for onlookers and those overdosing on the deshbakti formula mastered by Bollywood, but try it on a soldier and one may get roasted - and for good reason.

So, when a Modi bhakt fell in the line of fire, Lt Col Darshan Dhillon aka Fauji Baba promptly called out his ATM patriotism with a brilliant defence - this time off the border - and presumably in a serpentine queue:

The armed forces defend India's toughest terrains with courage and cause, as also with willingness and reason. Is it not desperate to use their unfazed commitment to justify everyday ATM queues?

Besides being a soldier, Fauji Baba is a concerned citizen encouraging the fight against black money. Is he wrong in expressing his reservations that PM Modi's "policies are not clear"?