A battle of words

Did anyone notice the sharpness with which Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has been reacting to suggestions that L K Advani has as much claim to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership as Narendra Modi? Well, the reason is not far to seek. A few weeks ago, Advani supposedly praised Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the skies, and suggested Modi had got a state that was already well developed, but it was Chouhan who had had a much more difficult task of developing a less developed state. He also named Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh. But guess what? He forgot to name the other BJP-ruled state, namely Goa. One reason could be that in 2009, Parrikar had likened Advani with a "pickle gone rancid". And Advani responded by not naming him at all. In Goa, Parrikar then replied by saying, "Those above 65 should consider retiring from the party and all its positions."