As Abhi posted, several Indian members of Parliament were caught taking bribes to ask questions on the Parliament floor. Because some of the journalists involved are also bloggers, one of the questions asked included the name of our blog.

Abhi has the summary of events. What interests me are the cultural implications:

  • Sepia Mutiny is now on the floor record of the Indian Parliament (thanks, Aaj Tak and Cobra Post!) Ahhh, to be a footnote in Indian political history.
  • Sepia Mutiny is now, apparently, British
  • You can now legitimately mention Sepia Mutiny in your poli sci classes
  • Ennis says:

    Often statements are read into the record for constituents and donors, and these are usually not checked over. Causes embarassment when the “freedom fighters” mentioned are later reclassified by the US govt as terrorist groups, but nobody really cares.
    But has there ever been a U.S. political scandal where prima facia nonsensical questions were purchased for the Congressional record?

The sting was called ‘Operation Duryodhana,’ which has some interesting connotations from the Mahabharata. This one is a pun on Cobra Post and ‘sting operation’:

[Duryodhana’s] chariot bore a flag depicting a hooded cobra… [Link]

This one refers to the Achilles’ heel of politicians, getting nailed for corruption:

Duryodhana is often compared with Achilles of Homer’s Illiad. While it was the heel… for the latter, it was [the] thigh for the former. [Link]

As for me, on my next trip to Madhya Pradesh I’ll be chillin’ with ‘our own’ BJP legislator, Chandra Pratap Singh.

Update: Parag reminds us of Fredoniagate:

A few years ago, Spy magazine sent a guy around asking congresscritters what their position was on the crisis in Fredonia. They all babbled out a bunch of platitudes. Fredonia, in case you forgot, is an imaginary country from a Marx Brothers movie. [Link]

Canadians are chuckling over [George W. Bush’s] on-air answer when a comic posing as a reporter made up a story that Canadian Prime Minister “Jean Poutine” had endorsed him. “I appreciate his strong statement, he understands I believe in free trade,” Bush replied… Canada’s prime minister is Jean Chretien, not Poutine, and he has endorsed no one in U.S. politics. Poutine is a fast food meal of french fries, gravy and cheese curd popular in French-speaking Quebec…

In Arkansas, Mercer got Gov. Mike Huckabee to congratulate Canadians for preserving their “national igloo” -which Mercer had told him was melting because of global warming. And he got American professors to sign a petition urging an end to the “Toronto polar bear hunt.” Toronto is a city of 2.4 million people and no wild polar bears. [Link]

Punk’d!

Related post: The Mutiny claims its first victims