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Quomodocu... what? Shashi Tharoor's word of the day quizzes internet, but is a jibe at Railways
Tharoor is known to introduce rare words with difficult pronunciations to his followers on Twitter, leaving them to search for a dictionary.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who every now and then teaches us all a new word from the English dictionary, has yet again managed to stump the internet. His latest on Sunday was 'quomodocunquize' and this time it was to take a swipe at the Railways.
The Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram is known to introduce rare words with difficult pronunciations to his followers on Twitter. He is also known to have created new words that have become popular usage and have been even added to the Oxford English dictionary.
Tharoor, in a tweet, said: “Obscure Words Deptt: Must the Indian Railways quomodocunquize?”
He posted an image with the definition of the word and tagged the railway ministry with the hashtag 'Senior Citizens Concession’.
Shashi Tharoor's jibe comes in response to the recent announcement by Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw that the concession on tickets for senior citizens cannot be resumed.
Vaishnaw said that the Railways was already operating at a subsidised rate. “For every ₹100 spent towards operational expenses, the Railways collects only ₹45 from a passenger. We have to contribute to keeping the railways a sustainable mode of transport,” he said on the sidelines of a function at IIT Madras.
The concessions, which were put on hold from March 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic hit the country, have remained suspended to this day. According to a reply to an RTI query filed by Madhya Pradesh-based Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the Railways has generated an additional revenue of over ₹1,500 crore from senior citizen travellers in two years since the suspension of the concession.
