indian express 08 august 2013 13
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7/29/2019 Indian Express 08 August 2013 13
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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?
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.
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