Some of my MBA students are notorious for taking 'toilet breaks' while writing the term end examination. Last year, I happened to be invigilating a Marketing Specialization examination very tightly when after squirming for a while, one student got up and left for the loo. This was followed by a host of students who suddenly felt the pressure on their bladders. This led me to make an exasperated comment " I never knew going to the loo is a contagious disease". That at least put a stop to the nonsense. What these students were doing in the toilet is anything other than taking a leak. A quick refresher from materials (bits) taken from the 'hidden' sources is a norm than an exception, as also a quick phone call to a friend outside.
But for this to happen in India's Election Commission is bewildering to say the least, as the report below shows,
"Election Commissioner Navin Chawla's excuses and frequent visits to the washroom whenever crucial decisions were taken by the full bench of the Election Commission, is among the instances cited by the Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami in his letter to the President recommending the former's removal.
In the report to the President, the CEC notes that whenever the full bench meeting was seized of an issue, Chawla will make an excuse of going to the washroom. And soon thereafter, invariably, the CEC would get phone calls from top Congress functionaries even as the meeting was in progress. This amounted to interference in the functioning of the Election Commission, the CEC felt".
I would have really laughed but for the seriousness of this allegations. What next? A policy change at the Election Commission in the guideline for the EC saying - "Article 6(5) ; Thou shall not piss during the EC meetings" or better still, "in the event of an emergency bottles will be provided to enable you to piss where you are seated"
