That's all, Your Honour! : Nov.14-20

Before getting into the details, a top story this week that the ENTIRE TV media has blacked out - The Mediagate scandal!

1. Finally, A. Raja resigned! Late last Sunday night. It was widely expected that Parliament will now function, but the opposition has not budged from its demand on JPC. Parliament has ben adjourned all week because the government is also not budging from its stand of not having a JPC! And amidst all this, for the first time in the history of Independent India, the Supreme Court has questioned the Prime Minister's silence for 16 long months, on a request by Subramaniam Swamy seeking permission to prosecute A. Raja. The Prime Minister has filed an affidavit detailing what all had been done. And then CNN-IBN breaks a story showing how DMK "arm-twisted" the PM into changing the terms of reference for the GoM on spectrum allocation. That the "honest" and "decent" Prime Minister stood as a mute spectator to this loot is also no open secret. However what is elementary, and what our complicit media has very conveiniently dodged this time too, is the gross surrendering of the Congress party, led by Sonia Gandhi, to "coalition dharma". As much as the Prime Minister is guilty of allowing Raja to loot, equal culpability lies at the steps of Sonia Gandhi's house too. Why was she not strong enough to tell DMK that Raja is not acceptable? While the loot was happening, why was Sonia Gandhi silent? That the Congress party has been bending and crawling, even while such open loot was happening, is no big secret. We all know the Prime Minister does not have the political mandate to take on the DMK and it is only the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi who has this mandate. Why then, is Sonia Gandhi above questioning in this whole sordid saga of A. Raja?

2. And Yeddyurappa is back in news! First it was the Bellary brothers' revolt. Later, it was the split in the party. And now, JD(S) released documents that he alloted government land to his sons and other relatives at throw away prices. And also apparently some rules were bent, so that these lands could be acquired. And as expected, clamour for his resignation began. BJP should seriously consider this option too. There are just too many things propping up time and again. The failure of BJP to appear strong when such things are occuring, is a blow to its image in the country. Meanwhile, Yeddyurappa says that all the land has been surrendered and that there is no need for resigning. The BJP central leadership is yet to take a decision on this matter. Looks like we have to wait one more week to see how this plays out.

3. And Jagan is also back in the news! Sakshi channel, owned by him, telecasted a scathing program on how bad Sonia Gandhi is running the party ! A Congress MP running such kind of a story in a state which sent the highest MP's for the party, would obviously make it to National news in any other country, but not in ours! Quite expectedly, all Congress leaders in the state are jumping up and down in anger. They are unable to digest any kind of criticism against their "madam". Some voices were even choking! The Chief Minister, who is steadfast in responding only when "Madam" is insulted has released his mandatory condemnation too. Other TV channels had a field day in "analysing" this open defiance by Jagan. And about the voter - phew! Who really cares, your honour!

అదన్నమాట! :నవంబర్ 14-20

అసలు మన రాష్ట్రానికి పట్టిన దరిద్రం ఏంటో ! మొన్నామధ్య ఏపీపీఎస్సీ పరీక్షలు వాయద వెయ్యమని, తెలంగాణా విద్యార్ధులు రచ్చ చేస్తే, మన ప్రబుత్వం అంచనాలకు భిన్నంగా , గట్టిగా తన మాట మీద నిలబడి, పరీక్షను నిర్వహించింది. అదే సామర్ధ్యం ఇప్పుడు మళ్ళి ప్రదర్శించాల్సిన తరుణం వస్తే, మొహం చాటేసింది !

రాష్ట్రం లో ఎస్సై పోస్ట్స్ కోసం నిర్వహించాల్సిన పరీక్షలను వాయద వేసింది . కారణం - మళ్ళి తెలంగాణా విద్యార్ధుల రచ్చ . రెండేళ్ళు గా వాయద పడుతూ వస్తున్నా పరీక్ష ని ఎత్తి పరిస్థితుల్లో నైన నిర్వహిస్తాము అని చెప్పిన ౨౪ గంటల్లోనే మన ప్రభుత్వం ఇచిన మాట తప్పింది ! 1200 ఖాళీలు ఉన్నాయి. 65000 మంది రాయడానికి సిద్దమయ్యారు. వాళ్ళ ఆసల మీద నీళ్ళు జల్లుతూ, మన ప్రబుత్వం మళ్ళి ఇంకో సారి ఇలాంటి గూండాలకి తలొగ్గింది. తెలంగాణా విద్యార్ధులు సంతోషించారు అంట ఈ వార్త విని ! కేవలం ఉస్మానియా విద్యార్ధులు సంబరాలు జరుపుకుంటే, మొత్తం తెలంగాణా వాళ్ళు జరిపినట్ట అండి? ఎంతో మంది ఈ పరీక్ష కోసం వేచి చూసారు, వాళ్ళ సంగతి ఏమిటి మరి? ఎన్నాళ్ళు ఇలాంటి హింసా వాదుల అరాచకపు వ్యవహారాలని సహించాలి ? సీమాంధ్ర ఏమో అట్టుడికింది అంట ! మళ్ళి అదే కధ. అదే ప్రబుత్వం ! ఈ దరిద్రం ఎన్నాలో? దీని నుంచి విముక్తి ఎప్పుడో ?

ఇది ఇలా ఉండగా, సాక్షి టీవీ మొన్న ఒక గంట పాటు సోనియా గాంధి మీద ఒక కధనం ప్రసారం చేసింది అంట. విచ్చలవిడి గ తిట్టి పోసింది అంట మ్యాడం గారిని !! నవ్వలేక సచ్చాను అండి బాబు ! ఈనాడు, ఆంధ్రజ్యోతి ఎంత కాంగ్రెస్స్ కి వ్యతిరేకం గా వ్యవహరించినా, నీచమైన పదజాలం వాడలేదు. మన జగన్ గారి సాక్షి టీవీ ఆ గీత ని కూడా దాటి నట్టు ఉండి ! ఇంకా కాంగ్రెస్స్ లో ఇప్పుడు పోటి పడి మరి, నాయకులు జగన్ ని తిడుతున్నారు ! ఎంతైనా మ్యాడం కి తమ విశ్వాసం ప్రదర్శించాలి కద ! అదన్నమాట!

Mediagate!

Watergate was a major scandal back then in United States. It led to the fall of the then President too. Indian media, to showcase its utter lack of imagination, includes a "gate" to almost every scandal that gets exposed in India. Following their eminent footsteps, this blogpost has been titled "Mediagate" (word not my invention, but many folks have been using this on twitter and elsewhere, ever since the latest scoop got exposed!).

Anyways, let's get to the point. Nira Radia, a PR consultant and a lobbyist, was in news recently because of her alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum (Check out this link, for exhaustive info on links to follow). Turns out, she was also in touch with a lot of media folks. And then turns out, she had discussions with Barkha Dutt (during the 2009 UPA2 govt. formation), and Vir Sanghvi (during the 2009 UPA2 cabinet formation, and also about the Gas pricing fight between the Ambani brothers).

Quite expectedly, these have created quite a stir . And also quite expectedly, peripheral and generic rebuttals by both Barkha and Vir Sanghvi have come out too. The purpose of this blog (a copy of which has been sent to feedback@ndtv.com for Barkha's response. Not sure how to get in touch with Vir) is to pose some specific questions to both these eminences, with a vain hope of extracting a clarification from them. Multiple questions to Barkha on twitter (1, 2, 3, 4) have not yielded any answer from her.

The conversation between Barkha and Radia is here. These tapes are real - that much has been established. In defense of her conversation, Barkha Dutt points out:

Gathering information against the backdrop of a political story is not unethical. Nor is using that information to get more information

In isolation, this tweet looks perfect and most logical too. The problem arises, you see, when there is a difference between "using information" and "sharing information". Take for example this line by Barkha:

Oh God. So now what? What should I tell them? Tell me what should I tell them?

Now, the first and foremost commonsense question that comes to mind is - who are "them". What should Barkha tell "them" that will ease the situation? When asked this pointed question on twitter, there is no answer. When asked if finding out what to "tell them" is "sourcing" information, no answer.

We move on. To this line.

BARKHA: Also, but, but the Congress needs to tell Karunanidhi that we have not said anything about Maran.

BARKHA: Okay. Let me talk to them again.

So here she says she will talk to "them" again on what needs to be communicated. Naturally, a doubt arises if that communication has happened. But hey - ask her this and no answer!

Lastly this -

BARKHA: No, I’ll set it up as soon as they get out of RCR.

RADIA: What she saying is that, you know, that someone senior like Ghulam [Nabi Azad, senior Congress leader]---because he is the one who is authorised to speak. ….

BARKHA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

RADIA: Right? Was to speak to her then she can tell her father that I have got this message from the Congress.

BARKHA: Theek hai, not a problem. That’s not a problem, I’ll talk to Azad---I’ll talk to Azad right after I get out of RCR [Race Course Road, presumably, the PM’s residence].

RADIA: Yeah, and then she said when father lands, I can speak to him.

BARKHA: Okay.

"Sharing" information eh? "Sourcing" Information, did someone say? "I will set it up" comes under these categories?

Well to be fair, here's what she replied to some folks in a generic sense. No specifics. Only generics.

@diptosh Thanks for a voice of sanity.Many things said as diplomatic nice-nice to get info. Challenge magazines to prove any quid pro quo

Now would she care to define "many things"? Assuring that something will be "set-up" is part of a "diplomatice nice-nice" to get info?

Barkha also says this -

Radia was a valid news source for DMK camp. She gave info on Karunanidhi, and sought my analysis on what Cong may do next. Valid journalism.

I am sorry, but from the tapes, does it really sound like someone's "analysis" was being sought? Is it just about interpretation here?

@samratd diff btwen humouring a news source politely and acting. for the record, no call was made to azad. Check with him.

Yeah right, we should check with Azad (because he is one icon of trustworthiness!) And despite Barkha not delivering on "many things", I just wonder why Radia keeps calling her up? Radia is not as intelligent as she is made out to be?

There are more specifc questions that Barkha Dutt needs to answer. From how long has she been in touch with Nira? What stories were aired on NDTV based on her sourcing (Question via auldtimer)? (since she claims she is trusted source)? Exactly who were "them" and what was "set-up"? Or were they amongst the "many things" that were just said and not acted upon? How much trust did Radia place in you, that she is asking you to pass on information (or in your terminology, "share" information)? Does NDTV group have a corporate ethics policy? 2. If yes, does it endorse an ends-justify-means strategy? For ex: can NDTV staff lie to or strike dubious deals with sources? (last 2 questions from auldtimer). And then these superb questions from the editor of Open magazine (this line added on Nov.26) . Mere rebuttals with fancy words like "defamation", "unsubstaintiated" etc etc don't mean anything at all.

It is not this blogger's contention that you "lobbied" for A. Raja or for that matter, any individual. The above questions are asked based purely on the material available on the net, and not picked up from magazines that you have accused of defaming you. Nor am I am a part of a "lynch mob".

Now comes Vir Sanghvi! More than the transcripts, his rebuttal is more hilarious! First for some points on the transcripts - He talks about writing about the Gas pricing tussle between the Ambani brothers -

VIR: What kind of story do you want? Because this will go as Counterpoint, so it will be like most-most read, but it can’t seem too slanted, yet it is an ideal opportunity to get all the points across.

Also Vir Sanghvi talks about how an entire interview has to be "scripted" before it goes on air. Vir Sanghvi in his response, does not talk about any of these. Just goes on to rant about how he has never lobbied for Raja and how that is an unfair allegation. Many questioned as to how asking for the kind of story she wants, amounts to ethical journalism. No answer yet!

Check out this piece of conversation during the cabinet formation:

VIR: I’ll pass this on?

RADIA: Yeah. Thanks. Thanks to you.

VIR: Yeah.

RADIA: That was really great, you know, you all, I mean it was exactly as you had said and…

VIR : Okay.

RADIA: They were very relieved and she was so relieved. So, wants to say thank you to you personally.

VIR: I’ll pass it…

Does this not make it clear that he was "passing" along some information for which some people were very "thankful" about? And in his "response", he says this:

I received many calls from different sources during that period. In no case did I act on those requests as anybody in the government will know.

Does the pompous Vir Sanghvi see no need to clarify on these issues too? And first of all, which magazine has accused him of "lobbying for A. Raja"?

Why should these journos get away with merely rubbishing claims that were not made in the first place? Aren't there so many grey areas in these conversations that need clarification? Or is it that they think these are not worth clarifying? Just use hi-fi words, get on the offense, shout loudly, thank their supporters (who I presume haven't read/heard the transcripts) and therefore skip the specifics? Some journalists think the "complexities" of the source-journalist relationship needs to be understood better. I am sorry, Mr. Diptosh - getting away with such language doesn't befit the profession you are in!

It is an open challenge to these journos to answer these specific questions. Mere generic and peripheral "rebuttals" are not helping in bringing this watershed moment a.k.a the "Mediagate" to a closure!

PS: This blog has more follow-up posts on Mediagate, after writing this one. This link will take you to all posts labelled mediagate.

At the Test match...

We get down from the car, and the chat bandar guy asks us if we are returning from the match (perhaps because me and Sandeep were wearing our "famed Madhapur Cricket Club" t-shirts :D ). They then ask us score details; the pani puri guy felt an instantaneous disappointment on hearing that Sehwag missed his century; then another moment of instantaneous happiness on knowing Sachin was at the crease; And then ofcourse he got back to his routine of serving us those pani puris!

That cricket glues various sections of the society is no big secret, but such first hand experiences are always interesting memories. That said - what a weekend it was! We bought season tickets for the 2nd test match between India and Newzealand. The match started on a Friday (and if India were to be batting, we were ready to go that day too!). On Saturday, fully decked up, we reach the stadium and the police guy asks us to throw away our chart-papers! Already the list of things not allowed was long - but chart papers?? Any amount of argument with him didn't work and so before he threw us out, we threw the chart papers :D

India was fielding when we went in. Any player walks towards the boundary, that section of the crowd goes wild. And imagine, if the player happens to be either a Dravid or a Sachin - anyone standing outside will assume a wicket fell :). Dravid was fielding on our side, and this will perhaps be the closest look we will ever catch of this great man. Once New Zealand was all out, we shifted base to the top floor. The view was brilliant, but the Sun was literally breathing down our neck. That so much heat was possible in winter was another new thing that we learnt on that day. After a slow start, Sehwag got back to his original style of batting. Just when we thought, there is some element of boredom, Sehwag hits a four! More than anything, it was the constant cheering from the crowd that was real thrilling. The chanting of names, the shouting of slogans, and the Mexican wave (amazing how even the sound wave is super to hear - on TV we only get to see the wave; here, we get to hear it too!) - all added to our enjoyment. And during those "dull" moments", we could just strech our legs and relaxedly sit, given some empty seats in our area :). Ahh - you have to experience it to understand it :D

When Sachin walked in - You have to hear the roar to believe it ! We tho were in awe of his stance also, leave alone his shots! The greatest disappointment happened early on Day 3 (Day 2 for us) when just moments after we settled down in our seats - Sachin got out. And with VVS Laxman walking in, the roar was back again! Though what followed was "slow play" by Dravid and Laxman - must say it was hugely filling experience to watch them play in their own styles. Also given that we will never get to see them play live again (unless ofcourse, we get a test match before all three of them retire). Later, when Dhoni and Raina completed their formalities of getting out - the crowd was beginning to leave. And then Harbhajan turned the tide.

Unlimited entertainment was what he provided. We have never seen a field in which all 9 players were at the boundary. Nine!! More than that - each time the NZ players came to the boundary to take position, the crowd's roar was too good :) The crowd that left assuming the innings was over, once Laxman got out - must surely be ruing their decision. Amidst all this, Daniel Vettori's captaincy and NZ fielding were very good (of course, until Harbhajan came in :D). That we could get to get watch real quality cricket from so many players is what made this weekend one of the best.

The day ended with a sumptous dinner at a roadside Chinese eatery. The experience still lingers on, though :).

That's all, Your Honour! : Nov.7-13

1. Now, when you hear all over the TV that the US President has signed deals worth $10billion with Indian companies and government, you would instantly expect them to show what the actual deals were, no? However, irrelevant trivia, directionless discussions dominated the entire 3 day trip. Thankfully, print media did give us details about these deals, and quite frankly it was an incredibly proud moment for many folks - The President of US coming to India to secure jobs for people of his country :). Obama not mentioning Pakistan at the Taj drew some flak in the country. Thankfully, the next day in a town hall meeting with the students - a girl asked him how come the US helps Pak so much despite knowing of its support to Pakistan (the electronic media went gaga over this question too, but that's for a later day!). And then Obama started a long winded answer, where most of us did now understand where he started and where he ended (this was the case with most of his answers - dull, dreary, long, no direction) ! The substantial part of the answer being this - It is a strategically important country in the region. And is also a victim of its own terrorism. (same old stuff). And then says a stable Pak is in the interest of India. Well agreed, but shouldn't Pak first realise a stable Pak is in the interest of Pak! And therefore work towards it? Why is this India's responsibility?

And the next day, while addressing the joint session of Parliament, Obama says they would like to see India as a permanent member in an expanded UN Security Council. And then again our TV media went gaga - only realising later that this came along with some caveats. This article in Hindu analyses this announcement correctly - India is expected to support US in places like Iran; play a larger role in Mynammar etc. Though the announcement is significant - there is really nothing substantial about it. Ofcourse, for the TV media - it is the significance that matters, not the substance :D. Ohh, then he also asks Pak to take steps to bring the planners of 26/11 attacks to Justice! For most of the time, all they cared were about how Michelle Obama "wowed" the nation with her dances (with children). Anyways, our takeaway from this trip is the relaxation of further sanctions imposed on us - now there will be much more freer transfer of high-end technology. Again, what an incredibly proud moment for so many Indians - US President coming to India to secure jobs for his citizens :).

2. Within an hour of Obama leaving the country, Ashok Chavan's resignation as the CM of Maharashtra, because of his involvement in the Adarsh Society Housing Scam, was "accepted" by Sonia Gandhi. He then went and submitted it to the Governor. Finding a replacement took time, because almost all leaders were involved in this! Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde were also involved - but incidentally, they will get to stay as Union Ministers. Another Union Minister, Prithviraj Chavan was chosen as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Turns out, he also owns a flat elsewhere, meant for weaker sections of the society! Either way, the 4th CM in 5 years and only time will tell if he will complete his term! Chance pe Dance - NCP also changed its deputy CM ! Ajit Pawar, cousin of Hon. Shri. Sharad Pawar was "elected" as the Deputy CM unseating Chagan Bhujbal !

3. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) submitted his report on the 2G scam to the President. And he said the Union Minister, Shri A.Raja has caused the exchequer a loss of Rs. 1,76,000 crores through his decisions! To give you a perspective of this number - the defence budget of India last year was Rs. 1,40,000 crores !! Raja and his party DMK, however insist he has done no wrong - saying he just followed the 1999 policy and rates! You see, here's where people don't understand stuff. Why would anyone in their right mind use the 1999 rates in 2008 too?? Why? Just why?? More importantly, who? (and "telecom firms" is not the answer we are looking for. we want names of those who benefitted). Guess what - Raja even defied the PM's orders on this. Yes, you read it right - he defied the Prime Minister and yet he gets to keep his job! In the meanwhile, Jayalalitha jumps into the fray and offers her support to the UPA if Raja is sacked - for which the Prime Minister responds by saying it is for the "high command" of the Congress to take note of this! Strange, given that one would assume the Prime Minister of the country would also be part of the "high command"! That's all, your honour!

అదన్నమాట!: నవంబర్ 7-13

హైదరాబాద్ లో అసెంబ్లీ కి 2 చదరపు కిలోమీటర్ల విస్తీరణం లో ఎవ్వరు ధర్నాలు చెయ్యకూడదు. అటువంటిది, మొన్న సాక్షాతూ ముఖ్యమంత్రి గారే కాంగ్రెస్స్ పార్టి నిర్వహించిన ధర్నా లో పాల్గునారు. ఇంతకి ఈ ధర్నా సంగతి ఏంటి ? రాష్ట్రీయ స్వయం సేవక్ సంఘ్ మాజీ అధ్యక్షుడు సుదర్శన్ సోనియా గండి గారిని ఏవో మాటలు అన్నారు అంట ! రాజీవ్ గాంధి ని ఇందిరా గాంధి ని చంపించింది సోనియా గాంధి అని అన్నట్టు సమాచారం. అలా అని ఉంటె, తీవ్రంగా ఖండించాల్సిన విషయమే. కాని, ఇలా సాక్షాతూ ముఖ్య మంత్రి మరియు మిగతా మంత్రులు, ఇతర నాయకులు, ఇలా రూల్స్ ని బ్రేక్ చేసి మరి సోనియా గాంధికి వారి విధ్యేట మళ్ళి చాటుకునే అంత అవసరం ఏమి వచ్చింది అండి? రాష్ట్రానికి ఎన్నో అన్యాయాలు జరిగినప్పుడు, సదరు ముఖ్యమంత్రి గారు ధర్నాలకు దిగుతార అండి?

ఇది ఇలా ఉండగా, tv9 వారు తెదపా లో చీలిక కోసం తెగ ప్రయత్నాలు జరుగుతున్నాయి అని, ఒక అత్యద్భుతమైన కల్పిత కథ ఒక ప్రసారం చేసింది. తల తోక లేని ఈ కథ ని అసలు ఎవరు చెప్తే ప్రసారం చేసారో, నయంగా tv9 మనకి చెప్పాలి, కాని న్యాయంగా వ్యవహరిస్తే, అదీ tv9 ఎందుకు అవుతుంది లెండి :D

Trysts with MSM - Part 11

MSM stands for Main Stream Media.

Can't help but note these. National Bureau Chief of IBN, Bhupendra Chaube tweets this on Nov. 6th

Air force one has arrived, excitement as if a bridegroom has come for a wedding

Upon multiple people questioning him about this undue hype, he replies saying this:

@KanchanGupta i was being sarcastic, a dig at media's hype

So now, one would expect more sensible tweets to come from him, in the following days. Sample some of them over the course of the next 3 days :

PM obama dinner menu : chingara jammu prawns, fish and green-chilly lamb, kakori kababs, mughlai chicken, gobi, dal dampukht, rice pulao

Highlights of obama's address: several mps including mani shankar,anu tandon,jyoti mirdha left standing as parliaments central hall was full

Highlights of obama's addres:10 trinamool cong mps sat on the same bench,which was actually meant for 5.Space created for mamataa there only (asked him how where each MP sat is a highlight of the address - no answer!)

As obama came in, while rahul was doing namaste to him, obama extended his hand shake,had shared dinner table too with him last night at PMs

Gursharan kaur and sonia gandhi were wearing a similar colour saree, a sort of red colour (most important news, hence the emphasis by me :D)

A raja, sitting just before rahul G, tried his best to catch his eye, rahul didn't look towards him even once,upa still can't sack raja

There are some more like this. Ofcourse, he has also tweeted a couple of times of some substantial issues but these much more important news items outnumbered them. And Bhupendra Chaube was not alone in this. Almost all channels went over the top (even that description doesn't capture the true picture of the depths to which they plunged) during the period of this visit. Believe it or not, no other news was covered for even like 5 minutes !! They dedicated only about a min every now and then, for "other news" in the country. Well, what else would you expect if the National Bureau Chief of a major channel talks about the colour of the sarees of Sonia Gandhi and the PM's wife.

PS: Bhupendra Chaube also had this to say:

Ironical that obama is wooing captains of an india that's shining to shore up his prospects back home, while here in india, rahul Gandhi continues to reach out to an india that's still in darkness. So r we really a country that's shining? Or have we simply closed Our eyes to an india that's also hoping for someone to lift it from its deprivation. What a day to question the idea of india! Good night

I asked him:

@bhupendrachaube why do you always have to bring in that "two Indias" crap? Really, India is so simple that you can just classify in 2 ways?

He says: @ssudhirkumar imp to remind ourselves of challenges bac home too

I ask back - @bhupendrachaube but why do u get reminded of it only when jobs get created? Why not celebrate that fact?

For which he replies - @ssudhirkumar celebrate successes for sure, but don't turn a blind eye to challenges back home, honeywell, GE wooing us is one side of story

Further questions on how he keeps reiterating the same point, and make the tax paying citizenry look like some kind of cheap souls, did not result in any answers. Also, asked him to list out 3 things that changed as a result of Rahul Gandhi "reaching out" to an India that's "still in darkness" - no answer.

That's all, Your Honour! : Oct.31-Nov.5

The Adarsh scam controversy has been postponed atleast by a week (the Obama visit has taken over the news cycle), while all main involved politicians were busy targetting each other. The CWG scam details are also not to be heard. Apparently they have also been postponed to next week. AICC "elected" Sonia Gandhi and she skipped any mention to all the corruption charges hanging around the party's and the government's neck. Apparently those issues might get addressed later this month. Sachin Tendulkar has also postponed his 50th test century to next week (to be hit in Hyderabad, whilst fans like us watch him do that :) ).

Keeping all this in mind, let's postpone our weekly updates for this week too, your honour :).

అదన్నమాట!: అక్టోబర్ 31 - నవంబర్ 5

1969 - 1970 అప్పుడు ఎలా ఉందొ తెలిదు కాని, ఈ సారి రాష్ట్ర అవతరణ దినోత్సవాలు జరిగిన వాతారణం చూస్తుంటే, ముందు ఎప్పుడు ఇంత వ్యతిరేకత తో జరిగి ఉండవు అని అనిపించింది ! శ్రీమాన్ కేసీఆర్ గారు అయితే, విషం కక్కుతూనే ఉన్నారు. ఉస్మానియా విద్యార్ధులు, మేమేం తక్కువ తినలేదు అని విధ్వంసం కి దిగారు. వరంగల్ లో ఏకంగా తెలంగాణా తల్లి విగ్రహాన్ని ఆవిష్కరించారు అంట! ఎందరో మహానుభావులు కృషి చేస్తే, ఒక రాష్ట్రం గా మనం అవతరించాము. కలిసి ఉన్ననాల్లు ఆయినా, సరిగ్గా వ్యవహరించి, వాళ్ళ కష్టాన్ని, త్యాగాన్ని గుర్తించచ్చు కద? కాని, ఇలాంటి మంచి ఆలోచనలు ఇలాంటి చెత్త నాయకులకి ఎలా వస్తాయి లెండి ! వచ్చే ఏడాది నవంబర్ 1st ఎలా ఉంటుందో, ఏమిటో..

"Rehabilitation" Packages...

The Nov.26, 2008 attacks on Mumbai are believed to be the worst terror attack on India (am not sure how media classifies terror attacks as bad, worse etc, but let's leave that discussion for another day). When Shivraj Patil was the Home Minister of India, there were multiple terror attacks in various parts of the country. In any other country, he would have been sacked long back, but it took a 26/11 to happen for him to "resign". It took a trip to the Taj Hotel along with Ram Gopal Varma for the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh to resign (funny isn't it - he doesn't get to resign for glaring failures of 26/11 but has to resign for this cheap

stunt).

Now, one would assume the political careers of these two "leaders" has been finished. Also, one would assume that even if they were to bounce back, it will take a veryy long time. Here's where the central government stumps you. Within one year - yes, within one year - Vilasrao Deshmukh is made a Union Cabinet Minister (that too for Industries!) and a little later than one year, Shivraj Patil was appointed as the Governor of Punjab - an excellent rehabilitation package for ensuring that innocent people of this country died.

Recently, we are hearing about this Adarsh scam - the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is involved in this too, and is apparently on his way out. While the media goes gaga over ensuring a "corrupt" leader losing his post, aren't the above two examples enough to show that it is just a matter of time before Ashok Chavan is "rehabilitated" too ? What then is the point in gloating over, if he quits the post? Only those at the helm of affairs in the country are responsible for so blatantly insulting public memory - and yet no one dares to question their actions!