No discount

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu believes in plain speaking. On one occasion when an NGO asked for a discount on railway tickets on the ground that it was engaged in "spiritual work", the minister asked its representative: "Will the hotel where you stay also give you a discount? And what about the transport company? Is there a discount too?" When the representative answered in the negative, the minister said in his inimitable style, "Why is it incumbent on the Railways then to offer you a discount?"