Netizens slam last telegram to Rahul Gandhi

Kolkata, July 15 (IANS) With India bidding adieu to the iconic 163-year-old telegram service on Monday, nostalgia-struck netizens ridiculed the decision to send the last missive to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

The last telegram was dispatched from the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) in New Delhi area – the seat of the central government, much like Washington, D.C. – at 11.45 p.m. Sunday to Rahul Gandhi, nicknamed 'Pappu' (as in simpleton), by social media users.

The missive has been ridiculed across social networking sites like Facebook, against the backdrop of the cyber savvy fondly recalling their memories associated with the service that was introduced by the British in 1833.

Users have questioned the decision to dedicate the last message to Rahul Gandhi, through posts like "Out of 1.2 billion people, Pappu gets the last telegram. Holy crap" and "Pappu… Fixing in making history… Now Pappu will be famous in history books".

"Neopotist #Congress does it again! Last telegram sent to Rahul Gandhi," reads a comment.

Deriding Rahul Gandhi for not proving his worth, users have resorted to satire to slam the young leader.

"(Narendra) Modi sold tea when he was six. Sonia (Gandhi) waited tables when she was a teenager. The real problem is Rahul Gandhi. He can do neither even after 40. But meanwhile he is busy saying 'hello hello' to the last telegram he received and assures us that bad news will continue to flow even if telegram is discontinued," (sic) ran a post.

While the majority have recounted their days of receiving and sending telegrams, a few opine that the service should have been shut down earlier by BSNL, that incurred huge losses due to the advent of new technology.

"Telegram services came to an official end as of yesterday. The service cost 100 crores per annum with returns of 75 lakhs. OMG, what were they waiting for to stop this service. Why wasn't it done earlier?? Tax payers…your money being well put to use…don't know what to say," (sic) wrote one user.

Comments such as "Telegram Died Of Technology… He Was 163… RIP," and "Telegram… U Will Be Missed… By No One" have flooded the social network.

India owes its telegraph system to its erstwhile British rulers who brought it to the country in 1833 to establish a communication system between their capital Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Howrah. It was expanded across the country in 1853 and even after the arrival of the telephony system in India early in the 20th century, it was the principal means of communications across the vast landmass.