Spinderella!

Smriti Irani usually evokes strong feelings. So the moment news broke that the HRD minister had been demoted to the job of the infinitely more lightweight minister for textiles, much of Twitter erupted in malicious glee. There were the inevitable sexist jibes, but journalists had their say too: Om Thamvi called it the Modi government’s “biggest single educational reform”. Prabhu Chawla tweeted, “Media’s obsession with @smritiirani proves she brought HRD into national focus”. Others wondered if the new textile minister would make sarees mandatory wear for all women. But the most wicked response came from a member of the mainstream media. The Telegraph, which has a history of lampooning Irani — one of its memorable headlines for her was “Aunty National” — called her “SPINDERELLA”. The media’s going to miss her if she starts keeping a low profile in her new role.