Public relations for free

H Vasanthakumar, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, may wear his political heart on his sleeve, or rather on jacket ads in newspapers, for Congress President Sonia Gandhi but here is more evidence that the culture of sycophancy in the Congress is alive and well. Recently, an official of a commerce ministry-associated institution decided to “leak” a story about Commerce Minister Anand Sharma. The “story” he wanted to propagate was that Sharma lived in a small house and had been so good as to decline to shift to a larger one, saying all his needs were met. With nameless promoters like this, who needs public relations departments?