Pun facts

The unpredictability of the prime ministerial mind was in evidence at an event announcing the signing of an agreement between the roads and railways ministry for speedy clearances to build rail bridges across national highways. As Business Standard had reported, the advertisements to the event, which appeared on Monday morning, listed Sadananda Gowda as the railway minister perhaps because no one expected him to be replaced overnight by Suresh Prabhu in the weekend Cabinet reshuffle. At the event, Prabhu, too, seemed somewhat bemused at his appointment as he told the audience that he was lucky to be there. He was, however, able to muster up the presence of mind to make a joke in his speech for an event for which he was clearly unprepared. As it turned out, the two directors from the respective ministries who signed the agreement had Pathak as their surnames. Prabhu punned on this to say, "Two Pathaks have signed to clear one fatak [railway crossing] across national highways."