It is time for a “Patrika Pal” bil…
We all have had our fill of the agitation for a “lok pal” bill with teeth spear headed by Anna Hare. While it is an occasion of joy for us all that finally the government had to agree to it, the media coverage of the event begs some serious answers to very serious questions.
The TV media particular the Anglo kind have been openly partial to any ruling dispensation that professes “secularism” even the “pseudo” kind. E.g. they carried time and again sound bites and interviews with their darling “Kapil Sibal” never once asking him the following questions and demanding answers.
1. Why can’t government involve people outside in legislation drafting for corruption when for all things including Gujjar reservation the government reacts favorably ?
2. How can people like him, who do not see any corruption at all in 2G issue as the minister responsible for the ministry now, be expected to be responsible and enact a legislation.
3. The present law minister who was an active participant in 1983 in the (in)famous suit case cash scam, to topple RK hegde’s government and who worked overtime to make the present lok pal bill that is on the table even more toothless (if that were really possible it is a monumental feat in itself) be in a committee to enact a “strong lok pal bill”
4. Finally, why the huge reluctance on the part of the Government to make the joint committee involving citizens official ?
For reasons, best known to themselves the media somehow didn’t ask these probing questions and get answers. If they had done all these, then you know what we wouldn’t have needed a Anna Hazare to begin with. The media will now probably find some way to credit the Italian Maatha for the government being brought to its knees by Anna Hazare.
The India median has been subservient to the ruling dispensations, so far. Unless and until there is TRP potential they hardly report anything. They seem to wake up when only a ruling dispensation that is some what fair in being secular is in power (e.g. BJP). E.g. while the Anna Hazare media mela was going on how many of you saw reports of Ram Jethmalani’s findings where were submitted to the supreme court ?
1. The Italan Matha’s personal political secretary (ahmed patel) writes letters to the government aiming to influence the probe into Hasan Ali’s finances
2. The IIT Delhi professor who is part of the petition and complained to the PM about the ED’s director himself enjoying hospitality provided by Hasain Ali, in all his resorts and hotels while the investigation is going on… is being hounded out.
3. In fact, the SC found the two incidents to be so alarming and so blatant that it has asked the CBI to invsestigate and report.
Now that the black money investigation is inching closer to 10 Janpath (aka Italian Maatha’s residence) there is an allergy amongst the media to report in detail on that.
To a lay man like me the need of the hour is to ensure that the corruption in Media is eliminated first and possibly ahead of everything else. There is a Press Council of India and NBSA. I myself have written to them about biased reporting in several programmes, so far they haven’t even been acknowledged… They are worse than the lok pal envisioned by our criminal law minister Verappa Moily..
Yes, we may have our lok Pal in the end but without a “patrika pal bill” which imposes huge penalties and fines on the media our democracy would be incomplete… indeed.
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