Shri Ravishankar Prasad's contempt for the bureaucracy

Last night on "The Buck stops here" on NDTV, yes I do watch the show even after the Radia tapes, on a debate if the UPA was on the backfoot with not giving in to the Opposition's demand for a JPC into the 2G spectrum sale issue Shri Ravishankar Prasad made a number of points about Polayil Joseph Thomas (current CVC PJ Thomas) but the one that stood out was that Mr Thomas didn't work as a Director or Secretary in New Delhi and hence on that account wasn't competent enough to hold the high office of CVC headquartered in New Delhi. 

This observation brought about a rather unsavoury side of our politicians (and I suppose bureaucrats too) who seem to think as New Delhi to be the center of the Indian populace around which our lives revolve. How is working in New Delhi a medal of honour on a bureaucrats uniform? How does it become a measure of excellence and merit? Dr Babu Paul asked these very questions back to Shri Ravishankar Prasad who seemed to have taken it personally and exhibited disgust at having to answer a question raised by a bureaucrat. I've read about instances where IAS / IPS officers are treated with contempt by some illiterate politicians but Shri Prasad, an eminent lawyer in the Supreme Court, an ex Minister in the Union of India !!!

A savvy modern politician exhibiting such contempt was unbecoming of a person with such experience in the public domain with such an illustrious political life. Shri Ravishankar Prasad in a fleeting moment of rage showed his real colour, probably a belief deep inside that the bureaucrats were essentially servants of the political class. In those vulnerable moments he probably also forgot that only the cream of our educated graduates manage to clear the Civil Services exams in the first place. Salutations to Dr Babu Paul for the dignified and measured response, people like him bring dignity and respect to the profession. 

Note: This author holds no brief for the current CVC Shri PJ Thomas, this author doesn't have any proof to believe he's guilty or innocent, this author doesn't have an opinion on that front either. Eventually the outcome of PIL in the Supreme Court will make it clear if Shri Thomas was tainted or caught in the middle of a raging political battle. Dr Babu Paul writing about his first step into the IAS be a nice article to read if you'd be interested to know more about him. 

Mediagate, phone taps, leaks, corporate wars in India and Arnab Goswami

The Niira Radia tapes bring to light the extent of lobbying, molly coddling, news planting, opinion inseminating and persuasion corporate house indulge in in India. In the US all this is supposedly legal however in India it's still a new trend. Everyone knows it's there but no one talks about it. Govt policy is influenced by powerful PR personnel who can call almost anyone in the journalistic who's who or bureaucracy in the country. This post isn't going to start sermonizing about the ramifications this can have on our country or if the allocation of a natural resource can be decided by the judge of a High Court. This post isn't also going to be about how all this could be part of a grand corporate war between two brothers. We aren't going to delve about Barkha Dutt or #BarkhaGate as it has come to be known on Twitter nor the episode where Editors posted questions which went gloriously unanswered on NDTV. 

This is about "The Newshour" on Times NOW and Arnab Goswami. Arnab Goswami was an excellent news anchor in NDTV a long time ago, he still is a reasonably good moderator of television debates. I used to watch a 10 PM news show on NDTV half a decade ago (almost) and that was hosted by Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab Goswami and it was a brilliant format. Tonight on "The Newshour" on Times NOW, which hehad editorial control over,  Armab rightly proclaimed that there are no tapes that involve him and I applaud him for his incorruptibility. But on the same note I hope he's heard the tape where Navika Kumar sounded like a pet poodle when a call came to her phone from the head honcho of a PR agency. This conversation clearly indicates the rapport the two characters shared and if what Arnab has written in the internal memo to his staff is true then Navika Kumar better find another job.

The following is supposedly the internal memo Arnab wrote to Times NOW's staff:

Colleagues, 

There has been news about two senior journalists from other media groups being involved in collaborating with corporate lobbyists and corporate groups on the 2G scam issue. This is a low point in the news business. It’s downright shameful. I am writing to reiterate some of the core values of the group and the channel. We believe in fierce editorial independence and complete personal honesty. Our standards have to remain impeccably high. In your interactions at any level, remember that you are ambassadors of India’s number one news channel. In an earlier edit meeting, I have said that even a pass into a stadium that’s accepted free amounts to being compromised, and today I am writing to reassert that. No gifts, no favours, no lobbying, no free dining and wining, no cash, no kind, no pass, no trip, no holiday, no promise, no passes, no special treatment, no tall or short claims, no disrespect to the organization that you represent and the group that we are all a part of, no loose talk, no flexibility on values, will be accepted. If I hear of any, we will come down hard, and no exceptions will be made... 

—Arnab’

Make no mistake, Arnab can hold his head high unlike most other journalist seen hobnobbing with someone representing corporate interests, illustrious ones, people one held in high esteem. But still Arnab, will you have to make an exception in the case of Navika?