I scan the media - both print and visual - pretty closely to ascertain what's going on around me. So a few aspects that I'm gonna relate have baffled me....honestly and I'm sure that there would be very many who're in the same boat that I'm in! Without much ado, let me touch upon them.
(a) The Lalit Modi saga.
For over a fortnight, the media was agog with facts and clippings to show that Lalit Modi - the
ex-IPL chief who was unceremoniously booted out because of questionable financial dealings
while he was at its helm - was cosy with Sushma Swaraj, our foreign minister and Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the chief minister of Rajasthan. It almost appeared that the scalps of these two
BJP leaders were gonna be taken over the 'conflict-of-interest' issue as their near and dear ones
had received favours from Lalit Modi.
Connected to the news, the following were also bandied about/had taken place:-
(i) Prime Minister's silence on the entire issue.
(ii) The RSS's diktats that there wasn't any misdemeanour and therefore, no action be taken
on the duo.
(iii) Jairam Ramesh, the Congress spokesman, comes up on all the channels claiming that his
party would soon form governments in Delhi and Rajasthan.
And presto, then, came another disclosure from Lalit Modi about how Rahul Gandhi and Robert
Vadra had enjoyed his hospitality.
Ever since that episode, all the channels have gone strangely silent on what they termed as
"Lalit Gate".... Making me and millions of viewers like me feel duped and having been 'taken for
a jolly!'
(b) The Bar Bribery case.
During the months of May and Jun, the bar bribery case - refers to Kerala's FM having taken
a bribe from Biju Ramesh of the Bar Owners' Association - grabbed the local media headlines
which got to be shriller towards the run up to the Aruvikkara by election.
Connected to the news, the following were also played out:-
(i) Biju Ramesh saying that he'd decide on his subsequent plan of action, after discussing
with the opposition leadership, when the commission going into the scam pointed out
a few loopholes in his statements.
(ii) Oommen Chandy's government was shown mired in all sorts of corrupt activities.
And presto, then, came the results of the Aruvikkara by election where the people voted
overwhelmingly for Oommen Chandy's candidate.
Ever since, all the local channels have gone strangely silent on the 'bar bribery case.'......
Making mallus like me wonder as to whether there was any case to answer in the first place!
On what basis does the media give overnight publicity to people like Biju Ramesh, Feni
Balakrishnan, Saritha Nair, Biju Radhakrishnan etc when all of them are supposed to be party
to the crime?
(c) The Vyapam case.
Similarly, the investigation into the scam has been instituted in '13 with no concrete
conclusions till date. Were 44 and more deaths required for the media and the others to
realise the gravity of the scam?
Wish the watchdogs of democracy had reacted much earlier to prevent so many unfortunate
endings.
Tailpiece.
Probably, I'm old fashioned in my thinking. I've always been under the impression that when a misdemeanour comes to light, the concerned agencies looking into the charges and the watchdogs, like the media, did thorough investigations to bring out the facts of the case for public scrutiny/consumption. Frivolousness has to be avoided at all costs because reputations are being besmirched and the sanctity of institutions trivialised.......all in the deadly and dirty game of one upmanship!
(a) The Lalit Modi saga.
For over a fortnight, the media was agog with facts and clippings to show that Lalit Modi - the
ex-IPL chief who was unceremoniously booted out because of questionable financial dealings
while he was at its helm - was cosy with Sushma Swaraj, our foreign minister and Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the chief minister of Rajasthan. It almost appeared that the scalps of these two
BJP leaders were gonna be taken over the 'conflict-of-interest' issue as their near and dear ones
had received favours from Lalit Modi.
Connected to the news, the following were also bandied about/had taken place:-
(i) Prime Minister's silence on the entire issue.
(ii) The RSS's diktats that there wasn't any misdemeanour and therefore, no action be taken
on the duo.
(iii) Jairam Ramesh, the Congress spokesman, comes up on all the channels claiming that his
party would soon form governments in Delhi and Rajasthan.
And presto, then, came another disclosure from Lalit Modi about how Rahul Gandhi and Robert
Vadra had enjoyed his hospitality.
Ever since that episode, all the channels have gone strangely silent on what they termed as
"Lalit Gate".... Making me and millions of viewers like me feel duped and having been 'taken for
a jolly!'
(b) The Bar Bribery case.
During the months of May and Jun, the bar bribery case - refers to Kerala's FM having taken
a bribe from Biju Ramesh of the Bar Owners' Association - grabbed the local media headlines
which got to be shriller towards the run up to the Aruvikkara by election.
Connected to the news, the following were also played out:-
(i) Biju Ramesh saying that he'd decide on his subsequent plan of action, after discussing
with the opposition leadership, when the commission going into the scam pointed out
a few loopholes in his statements.
(ii) Oommen Chandy's government was shown mired in all sorts of corrupt activities.
And presto, then, came the results of the Aruvikkara by election where the people voted
overwhelmingly for Oommen Chandy's candidate.
Ever since, all the local channels have gone strangely silent on the 'bar bribery case.'......
Making mallus like me wonder as to whether there was any case to answer in the first place!
On what basis does the media give overnight publicity to people like Biju Ramesh, Feni
Balakrishnan, Saritha Nair, Biju Radhakrishnan etc when all of them are supposed to be party
to the crime?
(c) The Vyapam case.
Similarly, the investigation into the scam has been instituted in '13 with no concrete
conclusions till date. Were 44 and more deaths required for the media and the others to
realise the gravity of the scam?
Wish the watchdogs of democracy had reacted much earlier to prevent so many unfortunate
endings.
Tailpiece.
Probably, I'm old fashioned in my thinking. I've always been under the impression that when a misdemeanour comes to light, the concerned agencies looking into the charges and the watchdogs, like the media, did thorough investigations to bring out the facts of the case for public scrutiny/consumption. Frivolousness has to be avoided at all costs because reputations are being besmirched and the sanctity of institutions trivialised.......all in the deadly and dirty game of one upmanship!
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