News X: Uttarakhand publicity war

News X: Just when you thought our netas couldn't plumb the depths of politics any further, they go right ahead and surprise us. Images of Andhra Pradesh Congress MP Hanumantha Rao and Telugu Desam MP Ramesh Rathod jostling with each other and virtually trading blows at the airport in Dehra Dun point to the extent to which the optics of the rescue effort in Uttarakhand are being cynically used in the tug-of-war of partisan politics. The bodies of those who died in the flash floods haven't yet been fully retrieved - despite the valorous and selfless efforts of the armed forces personnel -- and there are still thousands of people stranded in the high Himalayas. And, yet, for provincial-minded politicians, even such a tragedy is a mere backstory for the macabre promotion of their parties -- and their own political careers.