Former telecommunications minister Kapil Sibal may be out of power but he tries to convey the message that he still wields the power of the pen. Known for wearing different hats – that of a lawyer, politician and lyricist – the senior Congress leader, on August 12, tweeted a short satirical rhyme at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as rupee hit a two-year low against dollar.
He wrote: “56 inch ki chhati, 58 ka rupaiya; kahan gayee woh chhati, kahan gaya rupaiya.” (The 56-inch chest, value of rupee at 58 against a dollar; Where has that chest gone and where has the rupee gone?”)
56 inch ki chhati 58 ka rupaiya kahan gayee woh chhati kahan gaya rupaiya
— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) August 12, 2015
Sibal was taking a potshot at Modi’s pre-2014 Lok Sabha election remark that it would take a 56-inch chest to convert Uttar Pradesh to Gujarat. He also tried to puncture the PM’s pre-election claim of improving the nation’s economy. He strategically timed his rhyme to coincide with the fall of rupee at $64.83 and a complete washout of Parliament’s monsoon session staring at the BJP-led NDA government.
Sibal, who is known to have penned songs for some Bollywood movies and a poem for the girl child, took to Twitter after a long time. His last tweet on April 25 was also a dig at Modi when he wrote: “baat mann ki at prime time fixed choices at meal time Ministers are supine Loktantra in decline If no stitches in time Achhey din only mine.”
However he was contradicted by twitterati who attacked him for his remarks on “zero loss” in the 2G spectrum scam and the devaluation of rupee. Some even went to the extent of making personal and obscene comments, which cannot be reproduced here:
@KapilSibal Expected you to be good at economics, sigh! It's the yuan depreciation even then the RUPEE IS STRONG far better than in 2013. ;)
— Richa Sharma (@RichaRSharma09) August 12, 2015
@KapilSibal Sir, when AAKASH tablet is landing on Earth? any timeline?
— MungerilalCM (@CMMungerilal) August 12, 2015
@KapilSibal Sir any words on 0 loss theory? should it not be included in CBSE syllabus.
— Delhi Belly (@goodandbad44) August 12, 2015
@KapilSibal silly tweet.well read person like u should know whats going on in FX wrt China & US Fed. A gradually weakening Re is good for us
— Vatsal Srivastava (@FXmacrotrade) August 12, 2015