I , for one, wondered what the mahatma would have made of the Mallya deal. We have some Gandhiwadhis hailing Mr Mallya for bringing our ‘heritage’ back to India. Never mind, if Gandhi’s things were paid for with a liquor baron’s money. Whatever happened to the Gandhian thought about putting ‘means’ above ‘ends’? Does the end, however lofty, justify any means? Of course there is a school of thought that believes there is no such thing as tainted money.

Mr Mallya may be an honourable man, but a businessman nonetheless, believing in making sensible investments. Imagine the publicity mileage he can milk out of his Gandhian acquisition. Not long ago, he bought Tipu’s sword in auction, and brandished it during the last poll campaign ,when Mr Mallya was working president of the Janata Party.

We have another election round the corner. It comes after another prized acquisition by Mr Mallya. Is he still with the janata Party ?

For the record, he is reported to have paid $1.8 mill to retrive for India prized artefacts auctioned in New York. The items that came under the hammer were Gandhi’s pocket watch, a pair of sandals, his metal-rimmed glasses, and a plate and bowl.