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  • 7/29/2019 Indian Express 08 August 2013 13

    1/1

    THE OP-ED PAGETheIndianEXPRESSwww.indianexpress.com

    13l THURSDAY l AUGUST 8 l 2013

    TUESDAY morning broughtnewsof fiveIndian soldiershavingbeenkilledafter anincursionacrosstheborderby troops in

    Pakistanarmy uniforms. There-after,we heardnothingbut battlecriesand whereverwe looked,theTVcamerasshowedus violentclashes: inParliament,MulayamSinghYadavand Yashwant Sinhaledthecharge againstthe government;onthestreets, indifferentpartsof thecountry, wewere shownsponta-neouspublicprotests;in Delhi,theBJPyouthwingtriedto invadethede-fenceministersprivacy;in Patna, a

    young woman was shown rolling onthegroundin inconsolablegriefat thelossof herlovedone;and finally,in theTVnews studios, Indianwaspittedagainst Indian, anchors tookon in-

    vited guests and officers from bothsidesof theLoC crossedwords.War,

    war had indeed been declared.Theresa senseof djvu, ob-

    served anchorBarkhaDutt onNDTV

    24x7,referringto thesequenceofeventsandthe reactionsthat followeverysuchincursionor fracaswithPakistan.She mightjust aswell havebeencommentingon thesamenessoftheresponseon TVnewstoall events:inthelastfortnight,wehaveseensimi-larbelligerentreactionson issuesasdifferentas thecleanchit toChennai

    SuperKingsGurunath Meiyappan,thesuspensionofan IASofficerbytheUPgovernment,andthekilling oftheIndiansoldiers.

    Thestudioboutshavebeentheshrillest andvery hard-hitting. Fromsternheadlineson HindinewschannelsPakistankodokarara jawab(ZeeNews)or thescornful,Pakistanrulatarahegahum rote rahenge?(IndiaTV)toacuttingoneonTimesNow(whatelse?):Pakistanbutchers/ Wecower?Fromthe brutalimagesof thewomanbeatento theground withuncontrolledgrief(ABP) tothe sistercrying,Bhaiyya, bhaiyya, insensateto theTVreportersquestions(India TV);fromthecomic stripof Pakistanitroops fir-

    ing(HeadlinesToday)to theimages ofthePakistanflagbeingburned(mostchannels) everyeffortwas madetocarrythefighttotheopposition,ortheenemyasthey werecalledon TimesNow.ArnabGoswamifired 14ques-tionsatthesilentprimeministerofIndiaandmany moreat hisguests, especiallyhisPakistaniones,who weregiving back

    asgoodastheygot.AdmiralJavedIqbal,forexample,saidthatifthepurposeofthebrouhahawastode-clarePakistana roguestate,then

    Indiashouldsever relations withitsneighbourtake thatArnab.

    Thesame happenedon NDTV24x7and CNN-IBN whereDutt and

    RajdeepSardesaifound themselvesdrawnintoheated argumentswiththeirPakistani guests,whowent on theoffensive,citing allmannerof Indianactsof violence, commissionandomission.ABPNewswent astepfur-ther:it hadanIndianspeakerin theleft-hand-corner of thescreen,a Pak-istaniin theright-hand-cornerand atimertickingaway thesecondsas theyspatverbalvolleysat eachother, in-comprehensible to thenaked earex-cept intenor.On IndiaNews, there

    were five Indian contestants from dif-ferentpoliticalpartiesor persuasionsandatleasttwoof themwereat each

    othersthroats.Ona sadder,less combativenote,

    newschannelsshowedus thesoldierscoffinsandjawanssalutingtheirdead

    comrades.AajTakinsisted itsfootagewas exclusive, but we sawt he samefootage onall newschannels.TimesNowstolea marchon theothersasitsreportermanagedto gethimselfamongthesoldiers,nearthe coffins.Hegot a littlecarriedaway, under-standablyperhaps,tellingus tolook atthetearsin theireyeswhileallwecouldseeweremen staring dullyat thecam-eraor flashingtheir mobilephones.

    Therewerea fewmomentsofsan-itywhen CNN-IBNinterviewedFor-eignMinisterSalman Khurshid (thiscouldhavebeena realexclusive)andDuttinterviewedthe BJPsYashwantSinha.Butsuchmomentswerefewas

    jingoism replaced journalism. Itreacheda pointwhensomeoneon oneofthechannels(sorry,couldnotcatch

    which one in time) shouted 50 oftheirsfor5 ofoursandalthoughno

    oneelse wentthat far,retributionandrevenge rentthe airwaves.Inthis warof words,professional-

    ismisthe firstcasualty.Didyouhearasinglereporteror anchorprefacetheir

    words with alleged Pakistani troops,orallegedterrorists?

    [email protected]

    TELANGANA TROUBLE

    THESangh ParivarweeklyOrganiserpublishedan editorialhighlightingtheCongress-led UPA governments re-lianceon electoralcalculationsinreachinga decisionregardingTelan-gana.It furthersays thesecalculationsareincorrect,and thatthisdoesnotbodewell forthe Congress.Theedito-rialalso accusesthe UPA governmentforprocrastinatingover Telangana,

    whoseformationwas oneof their2004electionpromises.Itsays,bytakingthisdecisionin thelastlegof thetenure,UPAis runningawayfromtheresponsibilityof creatingand sustain-ingthestate.Ithighlightshowinternal

    securitychallengesdue to AkbaruddinOwaisi,new settlementsof RohingyaMuslimsinHyderabad,andNaxalsintheregionhavenot beenadequatelytakencareof.In anattemptto nullifytheJaganReddyfactor,the SoniaGandhi-ledCongresshastimedthedecisionto perfection,saysthe edito-rial.Italso lamentsCongressgeneralsecretaryDigvijayaSinghheadingtheconsultationson theissue,saying:Forgetaboutthe alliancepartnersandoppositionparties,thereseemstobeno consensusaboutthefutureandnatureof AndhraPradeshamongtheCongressleaders itself. Accordingtotheeditorial,the NDAgovernmentsmanagementof thecreation ofJhark-

    hand, Chhattisgarhand Uttaranchalin2000,forwhichL.K. Advanimanagedtheconsultationprocess,is incontrast

    with the Congressentrusting this sen-sitivetask tosomepartyfunctionary.Theeditorialalsopointsout theabsenceof aplan totackletheup-surgeofsuch demandsfromotherpartsofthecountry.

    OPAQUE ON TRANSPARENCYBOTHSangh Parivarweekliesexpressfrustrationat thegovernmentsmove

    toamendtheRTIActinordertonul-lifythechief information commis-sionersorder, bringingthe sixnationalpartiesunderthe ambit ofthe RTI.AneditorialinPanchjanya,suggeststhatthemove,whichhassupportfromacrosspartylines,is areflectionofthecorruptionandinsensitivityof thepoliticalclass. Theeditorial criticisespoliticalpartiesfor closingranksandrallyingagainst transparency.TheOr-ganiserskilfullyattempts to exoneratetheBJP forsupportinga potentialamendmentbyblamingtheCongress

    forinitiating themove.It hassoughtcommentsfromleadersof allmajorpoliticalpartiesotherthantheBJP.TheOrganiseralsocarries anarticle

    writtenby a BJP spokesperson,thatdeflectsattentionfrom thepartyspo-sition onpolitical partiesbeingundertheRTIandfocuses, instead,onthenon-inclusionofNGOsundertheact.

    KANWAR YATRABOTHSangh Parivarweekliesmadethekanwar yatra,undertakenbyHinduswearing saffronrobes forafortnightinthe monsoon,theircoverstories.While thePanchjanyadescribes

    thisasasearchforgodinnature,theOrganisercallsthe pilgrimagea sym-bolof enduranceandintegrity.

    Whilethekanwar yatra isunder-takenfortheHindugodShiva,both

    weekliesensurethat LordRam is notforgotten.Both prominentlyreportfromthe VishwaHinduParishadsre-centmeetingat Guwahatiandhigh-lightthedemandforalegislation,tobepassedby Parliamentin thismonsoonsessionitself, to facilitatethe buildingofa Ramtemplein Ayodhya.There-portsalsoannouncethe launchof the84kos parikrama aroundAyodhyafromAugust25tillSeptember13.

    Compiledby Ravish Tiwari

    Tele SCOPESHAILAJA BAJPAI

    ThewaronTVMoments of sanityare fewwhen jingoism replaces journalism

    IN THE studios, Indianwaspitted againstIndian,anchorstook on invitedguests and officers frombothsides of the LoC crossedwords. War, war had indeedbeen declared.

    View from the RIGHT

    THE Akhilesh Yadav govern-mentin Lucknowhasneverhadit so bad. For the first time, itfindsthat theCentre,the oppo-sition parties, the bureaucracyand the media are all rangedagainstit.

    The UPA government hasbeen sending persistent letters,askingforreportsonthesuspen-sion of Noida Sub-DivisionalMagistrate Durga Shakti Nag-pal. Congress president SoniaGandhi has written to PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh, re-

    questing that he ensure thatNagpalisnotunfairlytreated.The UP IAS Association hascomplainedthatNagpalwassus-pended without a hearing. Themediais givingthe government adaily battering for the shabbytreatmentofa youngofficerwhohas maintained a dignified si-lenceand,from heractions,ap-pearsuprightand honest.

    Underattack fromall sides,the Samajwadi Party govern-ment has dug in. Partyspokesman Ram Gopal Yadavhas gone so far as to say that ifthe Centre intervenes in Nag-palscase,itcan removeall IASofficers from UP. The chiefministerand hisministerialcol-leagues have ruled out a revo-cation of Nagpals suspension,sayingit wasperfectlyjustified.

    Whyhasthe government takensuchatoughstandinspiteofall-roundcriticism?

    From the way the eventshave been reported in a largesection of the media, it wouldappearthat Nagpalssuspensionislinkedto acrackdownshehadordered on illegal sand mining

    onthe riverbedsof theYamunaandtheHindon,whichwascar-riedonby politicallyinfluentialpeople.It hasbeenarguedthatthe governments explanation,offered by none less than thechief minister, that Nagpal wassuspended for demolition of amosquewall inKadalpurvillage

    wasjust anexcuse.Theargumentisfar-fetched.

    For,if thegovernmentwasreallyupset over Nagpals crackdownontheminingmafiawhichshestarted months ago it couldhave simply transferred her outandpostedapliantofficerinher

    place.Wherewastheneedtosin-gle her out for punitive actionandcreate a controversy?There-fore,the officialexplanation,thatNagpal was suspended for herlack of foresight in the demoli-tionofthemosquewall,isplausi-ble.That,intheprocess,thegov-ernmentactiontookthepressure

    off the mining mafia is a differ-entmatter.

    It is also politically under-standable,if oneremembersthatthecornerstoneof SPpresidentMulayamSingh YadavspoliticshasbeenforgingandsustainingaMuslim-Yadav combine. Theonlyexceptionin Mulayamspo-litical career was the short di-gression when he joined hands

    with former BJP chief ministerKalyanSingh, andpaidthe priceinthe 2009Lok Sabhaelections,

    with Musl ims ditch ing him tosupportthe Congress. Inrecentmonths,withanotherLokSabhaelection drawing closer, Mu-layamand hispartyhaveshownan anxiousness to cosy up toMuslim clerics of all shades,from the shahi imam of DelhisJama Masjid to Barelvi clericTauqeer Raza Khan.

    So, when local SP menblamedtheSDMforthedemoli-tionofthewallofamosque,thattoo in the month of Ramadan,

    the SP government reacted theonlyway it could:by suspendingthe SDM. The wall may havebeenbuiltongramsabhaland.Itmayhavebeenbuiltwithoutgov-ernment permission. For Mu-layam and the SP government,however, these were secondaryissues. UPs Muslim ministers

    likeAhmedHasanwerequicktoequatetheactionagainstNagpal

    withMulayamstandingbyMus-lims during the Babri Masjid

    demolition. After posing as thesaviour ofMuslims,can thegov-ernment now make a climb-down without suffering a loss offace?SP leadersarehittingout atthe critics. The media has beenaccusedofglorifyinganirrespon-sible officer. Nagpal herself hasbeencalled names.UPs bureau-cracyhas virtually beenaccusedofungratefulness.

    In fact, the governmentseemsto havebeen particularlyhurtby theIASAssociationsac-tion in sending a delegation tothe chief secretary that com-plained that Nagpals suspen-sionwas unfair.Theassociationalleged that there was no offi-cial report from the district ad-ministration of any communaltension in the area after the

    demolitionof themosque wall.Akhilesh pointed out thatduringthefiveyearsthatMayaw-ati was chief minister, the sameIAS Association had dared notholditsannualmeetings,thatthenon-IASofficial ShashankShek-har Singh presided over the ad-ministrationascabinet secretary,and that officers had to removetheirshoeswhentheywenttome-etthe chiefminister.Butthe asso-ciationhadnowspokenoutagai-nst the very government thatundidsomeofMayawatiscapri-cious policies and gave back thebureaucracysdignityand respect.

    Nevertheless, there are ele-ments within the government

    who would like to de-escalate.They realise that the tastelesspersonal remarks against Nag-pal, and the attacks on the me-

    dia and the bureaucracy, arecounterproductive. There is a

    view that the matter should beclosedbyrevokingNagpalssus-pensionaftershesubmitsherre-plytothechargesheet.

    [email protected]

    In a corner of its own makingOn the Durga Shakti Nagpal case, the Samajwadi Partys

    challenge is to climb downwithout losing face

    THERE ARE elementswithinthe governmentwho wouldliketo de-escalate. They realise

    that the tastelesspersonal remarksagainstNagpal, andtheattacks on themediaand the bureaucracy,are counterproductive.

    VIRENDER KUMAR

    Editedexcerpts fromJusticeR.A.Mehtasletter toGovernorofGujaratKamlaBeniwal andChiefJustice ofGujaratBhaskar Bhattacharya,refusingto take chargeas

    GujaratLokayukta

    IAMthankfulfortheconfidenceputinmeforthehighofficeoftheGujaratLokayukta.

    WhenHonblethe then

    Chief JusticeJusticeS.J.Mukhopadhyaykindly invitedmetwoyearsagoformyconsentforthispurpose,anddiscussed,Iwas notinterested,havingno ambitionordesire,and wasreluctant, beingaverseto anycontroversy.Withkindnessand greatpersuasionI wasgivento understandthatthe choice

    wouldbe unanimousand withoutanyobjectionfromanyquarter,in-cludingthestategovernment.Ihad

    myownreasontobelievethat(ithasturnedouttobewrong),andIhadconsentedat somepersonalsacri-fice, thinkingthatI couldservea

    veryuseful publicpurpose andhav-inghopethattheGujaratLokayukta

    Act,1986, couldbe upgradedandmadereallyeffectiveandstrong,inlinewith universalpublic opinionandconsensusinthe country.

    Soon,itbecameclearthatthepublicfunctionaries(whoseconducttheLokayuktamayhavetoinvesti-gate)hadstrongobjectionsagainstmyappointment...It wassaidthatIhadanti-governmentbias...

    Themindsetand attitudedis-playedbythe stategovernmentarecounter-significant,forexample, notacceptableto me,my wayorhighway; Thedraftordinance,duringthependencyofthepetition,toamend

    theschemeoftheappointmentofLo-kayukta(toexcludethe chiefjusticeandloadtheselectioncommitteewithmajorityof therulingpartyandgivingprimacytothepoliticalexecutive);(notassentedtobythegovernor). Referringa largenumberof com-plaintsagainstthe publicfunctionar-iestoa commissionofinquiry(soastoexclude themfrom beinginvesti-gatedbytheLokayukta); Persistentlyand tenaciouslyap-proachingtheSupremeCourt...athugepublicexpense.Itmaybecom-paredtothebudgetfortheLokayuktaoffice oreven thehighcourt....It wouldbe aneye-opener. Thenew Lokayuktabill passedby theGujarat legislative assembly(againto excludethechiefjusticeandload theselection committee

    with a majority of the ruling party

    andgiving primacyto thepoliticalexecutive);(notassentedto bythegovernor). Evenafterthree judgments oftheSupremeCourt,the reluctanceofthestate governmentto notifytheLokayuktaappointmentin theoffi-cialGujaratGovernmentGazetteissurprising,but notunexpected. Theletterof theGujaratgovern-ment datedJuly26, 2013(deliveredtomy AhmedabadresidencewhileI

    wasin USA)does notindicate anyinvitationorinterestbythegovern-ment.It statesthat theHonbleGovernorofGujarathasappointed

    youas theLokayukta... Theswear-ingin ceremonyforthepurposeneedsto beorganisedat theRajBhavan...to enableyouto assumetheoffice.As ifthe governmenthasnointerestor roleinthe matter!No

    invitationand nonotificationbythegovernment!Maybethereis alessonforthe

    newLokpal andLokayuktabillstoconsiderwhetherandto what ex-tentthe publicfunctionarieswhoarepotential subjectsof inquiry,shouldhaveanyvoicein theselec-tionandappointment.Givinga

    voice and primacy to such publicfunctionariesto decidewho isto betheirinvestigator,would giveanimpressionthattheywantit tobetheir cagedparrot andtheinsti-

    tutionof theLokayuktawould loseallcredibilityand respectof thepeopleand determany judgesfromaccepting.

    Iam aversetoanycontroversyandtryto keep away.Thepresentcontroversyhas denigratedthe of-ficeof theLokayuktaand adverselyaffected itscredibility.The ap-pointmenthaslostall thegraceanddignity.Theobjectionalleginganti-government bias(though neg-ativedby thecourts),really hurts.Somethinkthatif apersonisnotpro-government, heis necessarilyanti-government. Theycant ac-cept that thereis athirdcategory,neither pro- noranti-,but inde-pendent andneutral.Their mind-setisclear theirwayor nootherway.

    Foreffective functioningand

    forsatisfying thegreatpublic ex-pectationof cleansingpubliclife,theofficeof theLokayuktais re-quired tobe treatedand accepted

    with due grace, dignity and respect,andfreefrom anycontroversy,and

    with whole-heartedsupport. Infact,it should becommoncausebe-tweentheLokayuktaandthe gov-ernment(distinctfrom thepublicfunctionaries),as seenfromthe leg-islativeintent.Unfortunatelythiscausedoesnot appear tobe sharedbythe government.A Lokayuktaunwantedby thegovernmentcan-notget allthe necessaryandtimelysupportand cooperationfromthereluctantgovernment.TheLokayuktawillbe renderedineffec-

    tive,andthe greatpublicexpecta-tionswouldbe frustrated;andI

    would be at the receiving end forbeing ineffective.

    IfranklyadmitthatIwillnotbeabletofulfilthepublicduty,publicneedand highpublic expectationfromtheLokayuktainthe circum-stances.HowcanI taketherespon-sibilityand becomethe Lokayukta

    whenmy objectivityand credibilityarenotacceptedby thegovernmentandbythepublicfunctionaries

    whoseconduct theL okayuktamay

    haveto investigate?Findingsandrecommendations fororagainstapublicfunctionary willalwaysbeundera questionmark.

    Itakeas acompliment thealle-gationof theso-calledbiasof be-inganti-government becauseofmysupportto suchsocialcauses.Ifthereis perceivedinjusticeto vul-nerablepeopleatthehandsof thegovernment,I sympathisewiththem,andtry,in asmallway,toserve, support andhelp theircauses. A judgeshouldhave suchsensitivityfor justiceandthat doesnotmakehimbiasedandhe doesnotlose hisobjectivity.He remainstruetohisoathtodojusticewith-outfear orfavour. I derivesatisfac-tionfrom suchsensitivityand such

    work. Every human being shouldhavesuch heartand feelings, more

    particularlythosewho havetorender justice.Ihumblywithdrawmyconsent

    forthe appointmentas theGujaratLokayuktaand declineto assumetheoffice.Kindlyacceptmyrequestandrelieveme.

    Mostsincerely,R.A.Mehta

    The (Lokayukta)appointment has lostall grace anddignity

    SOMETHINKthat if a personis

    notpro-government,he isnecessarilyanti-government.Theycant accept thereis a

    thirdcategory, neitherpro-nor anti-, butindependentand neutral.

    CRSASIKUMAR