Twitter Tattle

Nadiad BJP secretary Nandita Thakur stirred up a hornets’ nest with a tweet distinguishing rape from molestation recently. Thakur tweeted: “There is no way one can prove molestation and it’s not rape,so harmless for so-called victim.” It caused a huge uproar on the microblogging site,coming as it did after the molestation charge against Asaram Bapu and the Mumbai gangrape. While Thakur tried to defend herself,arguing that the 140-character limitation had lost the real sense of her tweet,it had few takers. Twitteratis labelled her as member of the “Asaram fan club”. Thakur,who is a diehard Modi supporter,said she meant the “society always took the victim’s side irrespective of the circumstances”. She added,“It has become a trend to file molestation complaints because molestation does not harm the victim physically and there is no injury mark to prove,unlike rape.” Thakur,however,clarified,she had never supported Asaram Bapu and would never do in her life.

Buddha Parallel

Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu was in the soup last week for his alleged sexcapade in one of his ashrams. He landed in Ahmedabad from where he went to Mumbai. Amid the high-voltage “smear campaign”,he took it in his stride by drawing parallels with Gautam Buddha,arguing that even the Buddha had faced such charges of “character assassination” in his lifetime.

Taken for a ride

The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Ahmedabad is spreading its web with the addition of each new route. While accolades pour in,the fact is that the BRTS has not quite overcome the problem of landing points at bus stations. The craters have now become one feet deep at places. They have ensured the commuters,far from getting a dream ride,are taken for a ride. This is a “shameful chapter” of the Ahmedabad BRTS’ otherwise great success story,its officials agree.