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 | Our kind of guy: Badal Jr likes branded products Our Correspondent In a country where anti-business and anti-American biases are rife, it indeed takes courage for a politician to be seen as an endorser of the product of a multinational company (MNC). What, however, makes Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal's association with Diet Coke even bolder is the fact the American MNC has been denigrated by the Leftists and their fellow-traveling intellectuals as the epitome of all that is bad with America and capitalism; in their flights of fancy, they even linked the beverage made by the company with 'neo-imperialism.' They also coined a term, 'Coca-colonization.' It was because of the polluted climate of opinion the professional revolutionaries had created that during the brief Janata Party rule (1977-80), the then industry minister George Fernandes banned Coca Cola in India. But it seems that Punjab is free from the baneful influence of reddish intellectuals, whose chief occupation is demonization of everything that is good, efficacious and reasonable. Politicians in Punjab do not have to weigh pros and cons before making any statement, lest the self-appointed guardians of public morals take umbrage. So, Badal Jr said, "I am extremely fond of Diet Coke and apparently people in my state are well aware of one of my favourite beverages. You go to any Punjab village and you will certainly find Diet Coke cans. Some time back, I met the Coca-Cola CEO in a hotel in Delhi. I told him that, instead of paying hefty endorsement fees to film-stars and cricketers, they should consider me. But he just laughed it off." Well, Mr Badal, you would not have been laughing about your liking for Diet Coke had you been a politician in West Bengal, Kerala or many other states in the country where intellectuals continue to plague public discourse. He also flaunts his fondness of the sweaters of Pringle brand. In his words, "I always wear Pringle sweaters. The company knows it and now their Ludhiana factory makes sweaters especially for me. In fact, without sounding pompous, I am a bit of trendsetter in this regard." Badal's remarks and behaviour shows that Punjab is largely free from the scourge called intellectual. This is not surprising, for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and adjoining areas have people who are known for the robust commonsense and unfailing gumption; not for them the arcane debates on the correctness of ideologies. We do, therefore, we are—this seems to be the motto of the people this part of the country. Still, Badal should be praised for identifying himself with the people of his state and country—the normal people who like branded products, unlike the netas who wear dhoti and mouth baloney. Posted on : 11/1/2008 Mail this article to your friend |