After the US president and the Chinese premier, it was the turn of the Indian home minister P. Chidambaram to duck the shoe hurled at him by the defence correspondent of Dainik Jagaran Jarnail Singh. In all the three cases the throwers were wide off the mark!

Perhaps, they did not do their home work and came to the press conferences without target practice!

Surprisingly, Chidambaram looked amused at the shoes that missed him. Jarnail Singh was allegedly enraged at the Central Bureau of Investigation (the premier federal investigating agency) gave a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler who is believed to have instigated mobs to attacks Sikhs during the anti-sikh riots that followed the assassination of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Chidambaram clarified earlier that the forum where he was addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters was not proper for the question raised by Jarnail Singh. Nevertheless, Chidambaram answered the question. Chidambaram was not perturbed by Jarnail Singh’s unwarranted action and carried on with the press conference.

But, what happened after the shoe was hurled at Chidambaram merits appreciation. He did not press any charges against Jarnail Singh. Not only that, he made sure that he is let off without harassment. Now, how many Indian politicians would have had a large enough heart to do that?

How is this going to change the political scene? Here are a couple of takes on that… Take a look at this:

Will this lead to banning of footwear for journalists attending press conferences? Well, it is no longer safe to let the journalists wear shoes to press conferences. This mania is catching on and is becoming something of a vogue.

Will this lead to manufacture of a different stream of foot wears? Right now all shoes and chappals are being designed for covering the feet. If shoe throwing becomes a popular way of registering protests we may have to design shoes for throwing with aerodynamics which would not only glide smoothly but also hit the target!