Nagesh Bhushan Chuppala The dinner that wasn’t Delhi’s petty snub to the opposition is symptomatic of a deeper rot ON DECEMBER 5th Rashtrapati Bhavan rolled out the red carpet, the silver cutlery and, presumably, enough paneer to clog the Volga. Vladimir Putin, a man who treats ICC arrest warrants the way most people treat parking tickets, was the guest of honour. One small detail was missing: Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leaders of the Opposition in the two houses of Parliament. In their place, the government thoughtfully invited Shashi Tharoor—Congress’s resident polyglot and walking thesaurus—as a sort of bipartisan starter before the main course of sycophancy. Tharoor, ever courteous, turned up. The actual opposition leaders were left to dine on humble pie at home. This was not a clerical error. It was a deliberate, almost cartoonish snub, the diplomatic equivalent of hiding the good biscuits when the in-laws visit. In one childish evening the Modi government managed to...