Rani Singh: The incidence of slipper and shoe-throwing during the Indian elections is now frequent enough for it to be referred to as an election phenomenon. The press appears to be enjoying the search for appropriate epithets.

The Times of India referred to ‘footwear missiles’ in a recent incident.

In New Delhi, the central Home Minister had a shoe thrown at him by a journalist during a press conference.

At an election rally in Ahmedabad, an engineering student, incensed by what he called ‘lying’ politicians, hurled a shoe at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which landed just by the stage, falling short of its presumed intended target. Manmohan Singh, true to his gentle and conciliatory nature, asked the police not to press charges.

In Madhya Pradesh state, a disgruntled party worker threw a shoe at the main opposition leader L.K.Advani. It too missed its target, but mischievous television cameramen chose to linger on shots of the lonely shoe lying next to the podium, instead of concentrating on the politician and his important speech.

No wonder one daily wrote that the shoe had grown in stature and had become ‘a weapon of mass distraction.’

The shoe-missile phenomenon is now being called India’s ‘shoe-gate.’

In order to protect himself from similar airborne objects, opposition star Narendra Modi (who is considered by many to be responsible for communal violence in 2002) had a specially erected nylon net in front of him for one rally and in a preventative move, cancelled all press conferences, fearing the flying footwear of critical journalists.

In Northern India, a retired school teacher hurled a shoe-missile at a Congress candidate’s election meeting. The former was reportedly drunk at the time and remained unapologetic.

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