The donkey dilemma

What happens when a newspaper publishes a report about donkeys being smuggled out of Tamil Nadu?April 24: Intercepting a truck from Bodi vil...

What happens when a newspaper publishes a report about donkeys being smuggled out of Tamil Nadu?

April 24: Intercepting a truck from Bodi village in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, the police seized 20 donkeys being smuggled into Andhra Pradesh, says a respected national newspaper. April 26: DMK members stage a walk out in the Tamil Nadu State Assembly over the failure of the AIADMK government to protect the donkeys and explain why they were smuggled into Andhra Pradesh.

April 27: The donkey issue makes headlines in the local press. Opposition parties declare a state-wide 8216;Kazhudhai8217; donkey bandh. They argue that donkey smuggling was a blot on Tamil culture. April 29: Turning the tables on the opposition, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa accuses the DMK of being involved in donkey smuggling. The Congress says it would support the DMK. It demands the resignation of the government.

April 30: The government announces a judicial inquiry headed by a retired High Court judge to probe the donkey smuggling. May 2: In a strong indictment of the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, the former head of the TDP government Chandra Babu Naidu points out that the state was self sufficient in donkey wealth under the TDP regime.

May 3: Top stars of the Tamil screen, Rajnikant and Kamal Hassan, announce a co-production, Kazhudhai Thalaivali Donkey Headache; the lead role would be played by an unique, intelligent donkey. May 4: The RSS chief in Tamil Nadu wonders why there was such a fuss over the donkey episode. If the donkeys are old, they should just retire.

May 6: Cut out makers in Tamil Nadu report a brisk sale of donkey cutouts exhibited all over the state. TN leader Vaiko announces that he has received a statement from LTTE chief Prabhakaran extending full support to the donkeys being smuggled into Andhra Pradesh.

May 6: SPCA urges Congress president Sonia Gandhi to protect the Tamil Nadu donkeys. One of the party secretaries, Ambika Soni, says that

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Sonia was fully aware of the plight of the donkeys and would despatch Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit whose political future hangs in balance to Tamil Nadu to personally handle the welfare of donkeys.

May 9: The Bodi police announce they released the seized donkeys because the police had no funds to feed the animals. But the donkeys are in good shape and there was nothing to worry about. One of the local dailies reports that the donkeys have eaten up all the papers in the police station but this is denied by the local police.

May 11: Since the donkeys have been released, the case is closed. Sheila Dikshit continues to be Delhi Chief Minister.