Even former US president Bill Clinton got conned in Uttar Pradesh! That might sound amazing but is actually true. And those responsible for pulling a fast one on the high-profile foreign dignitary were no crooks, but government officials.
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, informed of the highly embarrassing episode on Thursday, has ordered an inquiry into the matter, asking a three-member panel to identify the officials who had played with the state's reputation.
This is what happened: On Thursday last, Clinton had visited Jabrauli village on the outskirts of the state capital, which his charitable foundation has adopted for undertaking projects relating mainly to education, health and sanitation.
As part of his rather hurried tour of the village, he had also visited the senior secondary school there. This is where the con operation was performed. One of the students was brought ahead to speak with the former president who was visibly impressed with the way he answered his questions in fluent English.
The catch was in the student being projected as one of the school products. The government school uniform he wore completed the charade. The truth was that he was actually brought in from a convent school in the area to impress the former president to demonstrate that the benevolence he had been showering on the village had not gone awash.
In fact, the entire village was spruced up, and houses on the route Clinton was to walk through, given a fresh coat of paint a couple of days before the high-profile visit. Now, it seems, the entire exercise was just, well, a whitewash.
Sources in the CM secretariat say Akhilesh is "very angry" and wants severe punishment to the officials responsible for the farce at the earliest.
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