The fact that to save both, criminals have had to be hauled out of jails, the sick and ailing have to be brought in on stretchers, that truant film stars have to be dragged away from overseas locations kicking and screaming, and that lawmakers have to be purchased like this, tells its own story.
The fact that the defence minister was represented by his deputy Pallam Raju, the fact that the navy and air staff sent two-star generals, shows that however high or mighty, if you should die as you must, you should do so somewhere in the vicinity of New Delhi -- or Bombay. Or else, too bad.
Where the voter seeks a clean window to the future; the Congress seems happy to provide a muddied rear-view mirror of the past.