Pleading poverty is second nature for politicians the world over. So is the affectation of sacrificing personal interest for the country's sake. Our new lot of 534 MPs will undoubtedly voice the same complaints.

Many are hardened veterans of previous Lok Sabhas. Some were ministers with a dubious reputation, explaining Manmohan Singh's justified qualms about ministry-making.

They all know, as Atal Bihari Vajpayee affirmed in the innocence of his salad days, that every legislator starts his career with the lie of a false election return.

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