BJP leader Sambit Patra, alongside being active on social media, is a frequently seen face in television debates. But on Saturday, a photo of a vulture shared by the politician eventually led to a caricature and then, an online auction of sorts. There has been no word from Patra as to how he feels about this turn of events.
Confused? Allow us to explain.
Sambit Patra had appeared on an India Today panel on Friday. It did not go well, as Patra and show anchor Rajdeep Sardesai engaged a verbal spat. "Those who complain about TV channels trying to buy TRPs out of Rhea-Sushant case should be shown the mirror as well, for once they closed all the gates of Parliament to trade TRPs during terror attack ..they even confessed being Vultures (sic)," he tweeted.
"I won’t name the ace reporter though!!" he assured as he rather helpfully shared a clip of the discussion with Sardesai.
This was followed by a photo of a vulture that he shared on Twitter with a self-explanatory caption. This is turn prompted speculation and sarcastic jibes. Twitter user 'ROFL Gandhi 2.0' drew a rather unflattering comparison stating that Patra looked like a frog (mendak) on TV), after which another user drew a caricature of the BJP leader.
And thus began the auction.
"Auction karte hain iss masterpiece ki..the money could be donated to some NGO active in primary education programs," suggested the Twitter influencer. And many were on board, offering up increasingly larger sums of money.
And while the first user offered up a rather tentative Rs 500, it ended with a Rs 1,01,001 'bid' from another user.
"Ok..aap toh swayam hi satyam hain...sold ! Our team will contact you to collect 1 rupee and deliver a center fresh to Bnd. For the remaining amount, the seller will coordinate with you," the 'auctioneer' tweeted in response to the final post.
Take a look at the 'bids' in sequence:
