----- Original Message ----- From: goasuraj To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; Prime Minister of India ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Navhind Times ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; GoaGoans ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; Dr. Leo Rebello Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2003 6:52 PM
Press should be voice of the voiceless, says Vajpayee The Navhind Times (GOA) (September 14, 2003) PTI Chennai: Septemer- 13, 2003. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee today deprecated the tendency of the press to be "hastily judgemental" and "sensationalise news" and asked it to draw their own line (Lakshman rekha) by following professional ethics. Dear Atalji, It is one thing to theorise and pontificate and quite another to be pragmatic and make common sense. When you talk of ethics, did you mean the Tehelka episode? Did your government try to draw the Lakshman Rekha and commend the spirit in which Tehelka sought to unravallel the labyrinth of corruption in your defence ministry wherein the very president of your esteemed party was seen stuffing his desk drawers with bundles of notes? The Lakshman Rekha line did not appear here but things went sour for Tehelka and your government managed to wipe it off. Is this the ethics you are talking about? "There is a tendency to be hastily judgemental, with a weakness for sensational headlines and editorialising in news columns. Sometimes, objective reportage of facts is compromised in the process," the prime minister said inaugurating the 125th anniversary of the national English daily.," The Hindu" here this evening. He asked the media to draw its own Lakshman rekha in the matter of taking care of its responsibilities and professional ethics, while regretting that there was an increasing tendency in the section of the media to highlight trivial things in life. "They highlight the fads and fashions about the rich and the over-privileged." Atalji, Would you rather have the magazines and newspapers bring out the gory details of people eating grass and seeds because of the incompetence of the people we put in the government? The rich and the privileged deserve the place in these glossy pages because they have come up with their own sweat and hardwork and they make them tick. He, however, observed that some newspapers did not fail to highlight the exploitations in society and corruption and wrong-doings in the corridors of power, and pointed that such exposure helped those in government to be vigilant. Atalji, I beg to defer with your biased viewpoint. What comes out in the newspapers about the wrong doings taking place in the corridors of power is the tip of the iceberg. Naturally, you would rather have that too submerged. It is the bounden duty of the government in place to, on its own, arrest this rot and keep the people of this country informed. Inspite of a few happenings coming out in the open because of the brazenness of the powerful in the corridors of power, sweet little is done to correct the wrongs. On the contrary, people are victimized to no end for being audacious to point fingers. You would certainly want to enjoy this power in the corridors of the government to keep the slate clean of the misdoings and mislead the people. "But vigilance must be based on veracity and on verification", he said. Atalji, In the Tehelka case, people of this country and the whole world saw what was happening in the corridors of power. Still you chose to bring in George Fernandes from his retirement before he could clear himself from the cloud of suspicion. Why? Again, your second in command Mr. Lal Krishna Advani and Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi, your Human resources Minister are charge sheeted in the Babri Masjid demolition case. What more veracity and verification is required for you to ask them for their resignation? What signal are you sending to the people of this country and to the whole world? That this country, that you are heading is run by criminals? Is the ethics only for the media? And it does not apply to you or the government you run? Freedom of the press came with responsibility. The media often looked at the political class and the government with a 'tinge of negativism," he said adding that media was welcome to expose the shortcomings in the governmental system but the approach should be "fair and balanced." Atalji: What is the fairness and balance that you are talking about? We saw you and your Deputy with pity on your faces when you two made it a point to visit the devastated Gujarat during the earthquake. You nor your deputy felt it fit to make the same appearance in Gujarat when thousands of people of your country were massacred by the monster you created. Why? Because it served your purpose? On top of it, Sir, you had the gal to denounce the world muslim community from the sacred soil of Goa and show your true intentions about secularism of the Nation. But when you visited foreign nations and when accosted by right thinking people, you cowed down saying "Gujarat should not have happened" Your actions show that you are an utter hypocrite. Criticising the media for "routinely" ignoring many constructive debates in Parliament and the governments' developmental initiatives, Mr. Vajpayee said success stories needed at least as much attention as failures and disasters and asked the media to help in transforming India into a developed nation within the next two decades. Atalji: And one of the priorities and recipe towards the development of the nation called India is the ban on cow slaughter and the construction of the Ram Temple over the ruins of the country's age old monument, the Babri Masjid which you helped bring about? You elevated Veer Savarkar from the dust bin of the nation's history and gave him the honour by hanging his portrait in the halls of the Nation's Parliament house. At the same time you introduce the Bill to ban cow slaughter when Veer Savarkar himself professed to his people the need to eat beef and advised them against deifying and worshiping animals. Aren't you actually dishonoring Veer Savarkar by being hipocritical? He emphasized that a newspaper should be a "voice of the voiceless and hope of the hopeless", and regretted that the common man was often "invisible" in the pages of glossy newspapers and magazines. Atalji, You would prefer that the common man be voiceless like in the case of the Best Bakery case. But the Supreme Court, in its eternal vigilance will not have you achieve that. If you were concerned for the voice of the common man, then you would have objected to the introduction of the ordinance in the Parliament against the requirement of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission that candidates must file their criminal antecedents and assets during nominations for elections. Are you not preaching what you do not practice? He also urged the media to participate with a sense of mission in the 'adventure' of social transformation and to ensure that India got transformed into a 'developed nation". "In the process we have to unlearn many habits and learn new constructive ones," he said expressing the confidence that India would always remain an "open inclusive and tolerant nation in spite of unfortunate aberrations." Atalji, With due respect to you Sir, It is you and your government that has to do the unlearning at most. You have to unlearn that you can ride people's religious sentiments by provoking them to get your RSS in the position of power so that you can subvert the very essence that binds this nation through the constitutional provision of SECULARISM. "I disagree with those who say that Indian democracy is in danger. There is also no need to be skeptical about Indian secularism," he said. Atalji, Permit me to say that these words seem out of place coming from you esteemed mouth, where every possible indicator is glowing 'red' in this very respect. Floriano Lobo President Goa Su-Raj Party. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
