Track II diplomacy

Being the toast of the electronic media can have its downside. This realisation suddenly appears to have dawned upon the aides of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who, after being flooded with requests for “exclusive” interviews after the Rail Budget, struggled for days to devise a please-all plan. Stumped by the sheer number of channels wanting one-on-ones with Lalu, his mandarins felt that taking the minister to each and every television channel studio could tax the minister well past midnight. So now, the ministry will allow prominent channels to erect small sets at the National Rail Museum and all Lalu is required to do is to hop from one set to another.