Here's a particularly ardent fan of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. Induvalu Suresh, a 35-year-old granite businessman from Ramanagaram, 60 kilometres from Bengaluru, cut off his left hand's little finger after Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were granted bail by a Delhi court in the National Herald case.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

According to a report in an English daily, on December 25, Suresh went to Tirupati, chopped off his little finger and dropped it in the hundi as a token of gratitude. "The entire Congress party was worried, when Sonia and Rahul were summoned by the court. I took a vow that if my leaders are granted bail I will offer my finger to God," Suresh told the daily.

On Saturday, he was summoned by state housing minister MH Ambareesh, of whom Suresh is also a fan, to meet him at his residence in JP Nagar in Bengaluru. Ambareesh hailed him as 'Kalyug's Ekalavya' but was very disapproving of his action. "We don't want sycophancy of pain," he said. The state government in Karnataka is Congress-ruled.

The housing minister said he wanted to visit Suresh's house but due to paucity of time, called him to Bengaluru.

Suresh said when he met Ambareesh, he was asked: "Why did you do this? You could have taken a padayatra or shown your concern in some other way."

"I told Anna that all those are passe. I was perturbed that Sonia and Rahul would be sent to jail," said Suresh to the daily.

Apparently, Suresh had not informed his family of his decision to cut off his little finger, and wrapped his finger in a Rs 1000 note to deal with the pain once the deed was done.