The abstract content of these AICC ads....

The following article was written for Niti Central. Pasting it here for reference. 

You wake up in the morning and pick up the newspaper. Front page advertisement shows Rahul Gandhi in a serious pose, along with some 8-10 folks, with a slogan that seldom makes sense.

You complete reading the newspaper and switch on TV – chances of a Rahul Gandhi centric advertisement playing during the ad breaks on any channel are near 100 per cent. In vernacular channels, we have Yuva Congress karyakartas telling us how awesome Rahul Gandhi is.

You get ready for office, start your car, switch on the radio hoping to listen to some nice songs and pleasant conversations. You are bombarded with two kinds of ads – One is Bharat Nirman and the other one says how awesome Rahul Gandhi is.

While driving to office, you will come across at least two large flexi posters of Rahul Gandhi in a pose that says he is the deepest and greatest thinker of all time. Again mostly in vernacular.

In office cafeterias, news channels are generally shown on TV. You sit for breakfast/lunch/snacks/coffee – at any given point of time, within 10 minutes, either a Bharat Nirman ad or a “Rahul Gandhi is awesome” ad is shown.

To unwind, you open a youtube video, “Rahul Gandhi at FICCI” ad comes up.

Phew! At the end of the day, you become so frustrated with these ads that you might end up not switching on the radio or the TV!

So you might ask – what is wrong in this marketing strategy? After all, don’t they have to sell their ideas? Here’s what is wrong with the ads:

The UPA Government, in one of their Bharat Nirman advertisements claims credit for “Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana” and “Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan”. This is chicanery at its best. Both these schemes were started by the NDA Government. It is a known thing that NDA Government focus on infrastructure improvement led to tremendous opportunities for various strata of the society. The Gram Sadak Yojana initiated and implemented by NDA made sure that villagers are well connected to main centres of trade. For the UPA to claim that their achievement lies in merely continuing this programme shows their sorry state of affairs. Similar is the story with Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan – the NDA started this and the UPA is now merely claiming credit to just continuing it!

Also note, how the NDA did not name these programmes after any random leader. Imagine if the UPA ever came up with such schemes – one would have been named after Indira and the other would have been named after Rajiv Gandhi. The UPA Government and Rahul Gandhi leave no stone unturned in claiming credit for bring in RTI and RTE. They even claim it to be one of the cures of all the ills plaguing our country. One might even get tired of listening to “We bought RTI. We bought RTE”. Here are two facts – the precursor to RTI was the Freedom to Information Act, 2002. Right to Education was included as a Fundamental Right in the Constitution in 2002. Guess who was in power in 2002? The NDA Government – the UPA took it’s own sweet time (7 years after RTE was first envisaged in the Constitution) to come up with the finer details of RTE. It made changes to Freedom to Information Act and called it the RTI. Both these concepts were not envisaged by the awesome Rahul Gandhi and co.

Finally, we come to the Rahul Gandhi ad blitzkrieg. Here’s a fundamental question – what exactly do those slogans mean? For example – “Not suggestions, results”. What does this mean? When it is his party that ruled India for 17+16+5+5+10 = 53 years since Independence, who is this directed at? Who is stopping at giving suggestions? Who is showing results? His own party has been in power for 10 years since his debut – so against whom are these rhetorical and abstract slogans directed at? To whom is kattar soch nahi, yuva josh directed towards? Or consider this – “Not politics, responsibility”. Are we to seriously believe that the Congress does not play politics? Or are we to seriously believe that Rahul Gandhi takes up responsibility?

Rahul Gandhi thundered at the AICC plenary recently – the Congress does not depend on a single person. And yet, day in and day out, all we see are ads that portray Rahul Gandhi as the awesome leader we ever had. The characters in the ad say that they are associated with “Rahul Gandhi’s yuva josh/shakti” – yet not a single question to the Congress by journalists on how blatant can Rahul Gandhi lie? All of the ads DO NOT have a single picture of the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi. Not a single picture. Is Rahul Gandhi so afraid of being associated with them and their rule? Is Rahul Gandhi wary of using their names while promoting the Congress? Is Rahul Gandhi so ego-minded that he does not what to share space with the Prime Minister and his own party’s president? Or does Rahul Gandhi think the people of India are so dumb that they will look at him and all that his Government did in the last 10 years, separately?

The costs for such an ad blitzkrieg must be monumental. There is no way that the Government of India is spending Rs 175 crore on the Bharat Niraman ads. We don’t even have an estimate on how much the Congress is spending on these ads – surely front page ads in every single newspaper of the country; prime time ads in every single news channel of the country – these don’t come cheap at all. There needs to be a debate on both the content and cost of these ads – neither of which our TV channels will do. We just need to wait for the day the discourse gets better.

The problem is Rahul's communication, not our comprehension!

The following article was written for Niti Central. Pasting it here for reference:

So much has been written and discussed about Rahul Gandhi’s interview to Arnab Goswami – with most of them focussing on how the whole interview was a disaster. There’s always two sides for a coin, so I wanted to focus on reading/listening to those who liked or were in awe of Rahul Gandhi’s (unrelated) responses to Arnab Goswami’s questions. Three arguments stand out (in order of their priority):

1. At least he gave an interview, unlike Narendra Modi who walked out of an interview. He held his head high and did not run away despite being cornered.

2. He is earnest, honest, sincerest, best(est) etc (Abhishek Singhvi used many more adjectives, difficult to mention all of them here!)

3. This article by Farzana Versey – “How Rahul Gandhi turned the tables”.

The first point is the proof enough of the depths to which our public discourse has fallen to. The Congress has maintained this line of argument moments after the interview was over – be content that he sat through the interview. This is Rahul Gandhi’s only one on one interview ever. Comparing this with the myriad interviews that Narendra Modi has given both pre-and post that one interview in which he walked out, is ridiculous to say the least. Narendra Modi has faced the Press, the public and even investigative agencies more often than Rahul Gandhi and his supporters can even imagine – so to cling on to one interview that happened five years back is laughable to say the least.

The primary argument all these years has been that Rahul Gandhi doesn’t speak to the Press, but the Press itself has missed another key performance metric – his abysmal performance as a Member of the Parliament. His attendance is at a lowly 42 per cent . Even during this 42 per cent of the time, he was not present in the House for the entire Session! He has not asked questions, not participated in debates, and we don’t know about his performance as a standing committee member. Even if he doesn’t feel obliged to talk to the Press, why does he not speak in Parliament? Therein lies the key problem – Rahul Gandhi either does not wish to communicate, or does not know how to communicate. Both of which are not qualities you’d expect in a leader hailed as the next best thing to happen to India.

The second argument that he comes across as earnest, honest, etc. This argument has been made by many journalists who somehow can’t come to terms to simply criticise him. These arguments would have sounded valid if Rahul Gandhi did a similar interview in 2004, when he made a debut in politics. Ten years hence, if we are to cling on to “Rahul is sincere” argument without tangible results, what does it speak of the level of discourse? There is no need to bother to waste any more space on this argument. And then finally comes the article by Farzana Versey – “How Rahul Gandhi turned the tables”. This article also assumes importance because the chief spokesperson of the Congress Ajay Maken himself has tweeted about this article. Farzana starts off by addressing some key points on which Rahul Gandhi was criticised. The first point is that Rahul Gandhi will be specific in speeches he makes outside of the TV studios, and not in the “TRP-driven” environment. The exact opposite argument that Arnab Goswami has made. But here’s the problem – in the past 10 years, please show us 3-4 speeches of Rahul Gandhi where he made “specific” points in his speech on current happenings. Better yet – show us one speech where he spoke five specific achievements on “Women Empowerment” that he touts about. We won’t find them, because guess what – he never made them! Interviewers will choose to ask questions in the manner they chose – not in the manner you wish. If the latter happens, it’s no more an interview but a monologue.

We will come to the Narendra Modi argument after discussing the others. The anti-Sikh pogrom and his whole fumbling without apologising. Farzana asks us why he should apologise. Fair enough question – why should anyone get away by merely “apologising” for riots? Narendra Modi has exposed this specious argument years ago – if you think I am guilty, seek punishment according to law, not a mere apology. This discourse of “apology” is driven by the media, encouraged by the likes of this very Congress members. However, the most important point of this question is what exactly was Rahul Gandhi’s answer? He said, “The difference between 1984 and 2002 is that in 1984, the Government tried to stop the violence and in 2002, the Government encourage the riots”. Rahul Gandhi needs to be questioned on this view – there cannot be an escape plan for this. There cannot be a “he doesn’t care about Modi” argument about this, because this is a serious allegation that he has levelled against an elected Chief Minister (for three times). If the likes of Farzana wish that the anchor should not have pursued that argument, then tough luck!

As far as I know, no one with authority asked why he did not come clean on degrees – because we all think he came clean! The question was simple – did you do M.Phil in Cambridge. The answer was – Yes. I agree with Farzana – it doesn’t matter if your degree is from Cambridge or Kakinada. But it does matter if one lies about it – that was the question put and the answer was given. Chapter closed. The argument that Rahul Gandhi decided to ignore small issues in pursuit of bigger and important issues, thereby “turning the tables”, falls flat on the face when one takes a look at Rahul Gandhi’s earlier responses elsewhere. To a question on “Water Resource Management” in a CII summit, he ended up talking about “system” and “women empowerment”. Are we to believe that “Water Resource Management” is not a serious enough issue that deserves the attention of the vice-president of the Congress ? The fallacy that people hailing the interview are making, is to view this in interview in isolation.

“Turning the tables” does not mean answering RTI, Women Empowerment, Candidate selection for any question posed at any forum. Narendra Modi was hounded by an entire cottage industry on a single point agenda. Through his developmental work, he changed the discourse in the media – that of development in “specific” terms and not mere rhetoric. After 10 years of hounding him, the media then started debating specifics of various administrative programmes – merely because he performed, delivered and persisted. That is how you “turn the tables”. Rahul Gandhi was rueing that “no one talks about these issues” – which begs the question – why hasn’t he talked enough of “these issues” then? What or who stopped him from writing articles on “these issues”? What or who stopped him from giving lectures and speeches on “these issues”? What or who stopped him ensuring that people actually discussed “these issues”? Why did he not communicate with the people more vigorously on “these issues” before? Why rue it in an interview, and then claim “no one talks” about these issues?

Farzana underlines points that she thinks are key to Rahul Gandhi’s interview. One of them being -”I’m being attacked because I’m asking questions that are dangerous to the system.” What questions had Rahul Gandhi posed that are “dangerous”? Dangerous is a big word to use, so, we have the right to know what questions were posed? To whom were these questions posed? Who attacked him? Would this article amount to attacking him? Rahul Gandhi has failed in communicating this thoughts to the people of the country. If that amounts to “attacking” him, it is a pity that we have to bear the burden of having to see this man in power. Would the likes of Farzana enlighten on this?

And lastly, in defence of Rahul Gandhi’s answer (that must have even stumped Lalu) that they are not allying with Lalu- the person, but Lalu’s party – the idea, Farzana asks – “When was the last time we heard a politician talk about ideas? ” Err – many politicians talk about ideas – many politicians have won elections based on ideas – impossible to fathom that they think Rahul Gandhi is the only person talking about ideas. The failure is in Rahul Gandhi’s communication, not our comprehension.

Rahul at CII summit

This article was written for NitiCentral. Pasting it here for reference :) 

"Indeed, Mr. Gandhi — in a marathon and somewhat rambling 75-minute long interaction — offered no road map or specific solution, sticking to a general, if folksy, analysis of the situation in the country,..."

No, it's not another rant by a disgruntled troll on the net. That excerpt is picked up from a report in The Hindu. Slowly, the tide seems to be turning, all thanks to the efforts by Rahul Gandhi himself! The more he talks, the more he reveals the vaccum in his thought process! 

But there is this self proclaimed "national media" that still refuses to call the bluff of Rahul Gandhi. Let's start with the IBN stable. 

Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai had this to say:

Rahul speech: very average. Q and a responses; very, very good.

Not just good. Very Very Good.

Rahul Gandhi read a speech for 26 minutes. Infact, he lost a paper in between and said “I lost it”! There was nothing new in his speech. It was just another rant. And then he said that "he'd be happy to answer questions".  

The first question was on Centre-State relations and how it's affecting the economic policy in India. It is safe to presume that the basis for this question is the recent FDI fiasco that UPA presided over. Rahul Gandhi goes on a tangent - says this is not about Centre-State at all... it is about the village pradhan. The village pradhan does not have the power, so anything else is a waste of time to discuss! 

Whilst people were still recovering from the answer, the second question was posed. One gentleman wanted to know his thoughts on water management, given the precarious nature of its availability these days. Frankly, the question was a very good one - something no politician has been posed in recent times. And here's where Rahul Gandhi's "very very good" answer blew out the minds of lakhs of folks watching it! 

He continued his rant - It's not just about water but it's about the system. You cannot get anything done within this system blah blah blah. And then he goes into giving power to billion people; rants about power being in the hands of few; moves to how Youth Congress elections are held; then enlightens that individuals cannot solve problem of a billion people; that it doesn't matter what Rahul Gandhi thinks about an issue because it is "irrelevant"; and then I lost interest in what he was ranting about!

He answered 2 questions for about 30 minutes (longer than his written speech) and in summary he said this - " You are foolish to imagine that I'd solve any of your problems. And because I can't do it, I tell you this with full authority - No one can solve your problems. Anyone telling you otherwise lying."

It's such a sad reflection of the quality of political analysis on our TV when the Editor-in-Chief of IBN thinks that this oft repeated rant is a "very very good" answer to a question of better water management. 

Meanwhile, National Bureau Chief of IBN, Mr. Bhupendra Chaubey says this (amongst some other gems): 

Rahul G clearly challenging Namo, that's what he is saying by talking about "individuals" #RGCII

Not to be left behind, Pallavi Ghosh says:

Rahul's dig at modi? " It can't be about one person"

Outside of the IBN stable, Director, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, Ms. Malini Parthasarathy tweets:

Rahul Gandhi's excellent warning to India not to fall into messiah trap but to hear aspirations of billions

It's amazing how these "analysts" don't see the supreme irony in Rahul Gandhi saying it's not about individuals. Ms. Malini even paraphrased it as his warning not to fall into messaih trap. This same Rahul Gandhi never misses an opportunity to extol about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi - all individuals. This same Rahul Gandhi never misses an opportunity to credit Rajiv Gandhi - an individual - for all the supposedly great things that this country has seen. This same Rahul Gandhi, in his recent Jaipur rant, has fully credited Mr. Manmohan Singh - an individual - for getting us out of the 1991 crisis. And this same Rahul Gandhi has enlightened us yesterday that this same individual, Mr. Manmohan Singh, cannot solve all your problems! 

But hey, analysing like this would mean that you miss a chance on hitting out at Modi, so why go down that road? 

But this speech also ruffled a few feathers. Like I said, the tide is slowly turning. Almost all the "national" news anchors were wondering why Rahul is still ranting against the "system" when he had the power to change it?

Vikram Chandra, CEO of NDTV: The problem with #RahulGandhi criticizing "the system" is that he and his party ARE the system right now! Solutions, pls!

Rajdeep Sardesai: Rahul speech: nice first principles, but where are the solutions Mr Gandhi? Or is that left to Dr Singh?

This is the exact same point that the trolls on the internet have been making since 2007 ! Rahul has dismal record of participation in any law making activity, and yet hasn’t faced a single tough question from any media (even in press conferences) so far.

The contradictions in Rahul Gandhi's speeches are so open for anyone to see - but if one chooses to be blind to the content and harp of charm, it's a real tragedy.

Finally, not to be left far behind, Sagarika Ghose has this to say:

Liked how Rahul presented himself, tho. Low key and informal. None of the swagger and bombast of You Know Who..

Sensible strategy of Pappu not to try and compete with Chappan in loud aggro swagger. His only hope is to sell the contrast in persona..

Great language coming from a deputy editor of a "national news channel".

A compilation of all his rants!

This piece was written for Niti Central. Reposting it here: 

In the summer of 2007, Rahul Gandhi uttered these sagely words: "I belong to the family which has never moved backwards, which has never gone back on its words. You know that when any member of my family had decided to do anything, he does it. Be it the freedom struggle, the division of Pakistan or taking India to the 21st century"

In the spring of 2011, Rahul Gandhi enlightened us by saying: "Corruption is taking place because doors of the political system are closed and the average person who wants to do good is not allowed in"

In the winter of 2013, Rahul Gandhi further asserted, by saying this (amongst many other gems): "All our public systems....are designed to keep people with knowledge out. They are closed systems. They are designed to promote mediocrity."

Ever since that summer of 2007, Rahul Gandhi has been dishing out such rhetoric on a very regular basis. Rahul Gandhi's latest Jaipur speech would have been just another repetitive rant against the "system", but for the fact that he was appointed as the Vice President of the ruling party of this country. And hence it becomes imperative for us to understand what exactly he wanted to convey. There was a lot of anger in the speech. A lot of "we" don't do this, "we" don't do that etc - but ranting is what we mere mortals would do. "Leaders" like Rahul Gandhi and "his family" have been given the opportunity to show us the solutions for these rants - which they have spectacularly failed to do. 

In his Jaipur speech, he also says "Power is grossly centralized in this country. We don't believe in empowering all the way to bottom." Who exactly is "we" here? His family? His party? Or the wretched "aam aadmi"? 

There was a lot of anger that poured out in his speech. At the fag end of his angry rant, he says thus: 

"The time has come to question the centralized, unresponsive and unaccountable systems of decision making in governance, administration and politics....The answer is to completely transform the system".

Perhaps this is the time to take a quick look at who led this wretched "system".  Rahul Gandhi's great grandfather headed this "system" for 17 years. His grandmother headed it for 16 years. His father headed it for 5 years. His mother has been heading it for 9 years (and still continues to head it). That makes it a grand, 17+16+5+9 = 47 years. The ever magnanimous Rahul Gandhi always fails to mention 2 other Prime Ministers (who are not from his "family") from the Congress, who have ruled us for 7 years. So, that makes it 54 years out of the 65 years we've had independence! 

So essentially the bulk of his speech is a damning indictment of the very same political system nurtured for 47 whopping years by his own family! Strong words were used left and right - no accountability, no respect for rules, all mediocre leaders - yet this speech is being hailed for it's "emotional" value. In the entire speech, there is not a single solution he proposes for all the ills his family has thrust upon us. He makes the cursory reference to Aadhar cards, MNREGA, RTE, DCT etc, but that's about it. He even rues that the very same Congress party headed by his family gives little regard to rules, and yet somehow manages to win elections because "India is in it's DNA". 

9 years is long enough time to bring in massive changes - we have leaders who have shown us what can be done in 5 years only! Yet, Rahul Gandhi does not have a single achievement to boast of (as an MP, as general secretary of his party). He seeks more time to bring in changes, telling us that he learnt that we have to correct things however long it takes! Irony died a million deaths when Rahul Gandhi rued that mediocre people become powerful in this country. 

It might not be a big deal for many, but when a "leader" reads out even personal anecdotes and experience from a written speech, it speaks volumes about his articulation abilities. Flawless articulation comes when there is clarity of thought - something that's missing in Rahul Gandhi, as is evident from his rant at Jaipur. Remember he said " You know that when any member of my family had decided to do anything, he does it." Are we to infer that his family decided to to bring in all those ills he is frustrated about? 

The speech is merely a compilation of all his incoherent rants all these years, and has failed to convey anything to the people of this country. The compliant media doesn't seem to question him on any of these aspects - they are just happy to tag along with his "emotional" speech. A cursory reading of various newspapers and viewing of various news channels only create the impression that he is the "eternal opposition leader" waiting and wanting to usher in the much needed change and relief to our "system". Or maybe that's the gameplan - to isolate Rahul Gandhi from the ills of UPA 1 and UPA 2 and set the stage for UPA 3 based on anti-incumbency of UPA 1 and 2! If that succeeds, we have no one else to blame, except us. 

"Rahul takes on Mayawati"

This blog post is not about Rahul Gandhi. This post is about the media coverage (especially the english language TV media) on Rahul Gandhi, in the run-up to the recent UP elections. And by "run-up" I don't mean the last 2 months. The last one year or so. 

Over time, I just tried to collect news items that essentially said "Rahul takes on Mayawati". or "Rahul tears into Mulayam" or profound journalists who said "Rahul will be seen a martyr in Bhatta-Parsaul" or NDTV which still thinks " Priyanka Gandhi, often described as an electrifying campaigner with a strong people connect, " or articles that said "Rahul Gandhi worked the hardest of all" etc. 

Despite this massive campaign by the English media - Congress won just 28 seats. Despite multiple shows on Priyanka Gandhi and front page pictures of her campaign in family bastions Amethi and Rae Bareilly, Congress lost 8 of the 10 seats in these two places. Congress even lost Bhatta Parsaul. 

SP won 225 seats. The win is majorly credited to Akhilesh Yadav. Only in the last 2-3 months, we have been hearing of him. Before that, it was almost as if he never existed. He started his yatra in Sept. 2011. No live coverage, no front page pictures. And today he emerged the winner. 

Do you see the disconnect of this media with the ground realities then? All along it was potrated as Rahul vs Mayawati. Turns out, it was Akhilesh all the way. Rahul took responsibility for the defeat - will the English TV media take responsibility for their disconnect? 

Below are links I compiled ( not exhaustive, but enough to give you a picture)

April 14, 2010 - Rahul challenges Maywati - 

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/rahul-challenges-mayawati-on-home-turf/137192 

Apr, 2011 - Rahul steals thunder from BSP

http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-89841.html

June 2011 - Rahul dares Mayawati - http://ibnlive.in.com/news/learn-from-haryana-rahul-dares-mayawati/166224-37-64.html 

Rahul takes on Mayawati

22nd Nov - http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/rahul-gandhi-begins-jan-sampark-yatra-takes-on-mayawati-152042

23rd Nov - http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/on-day-2-of-up-yatra-rahul-gandhi-takes-on-mayawati-again/216777 

25th Nov - https://twitter.com/#!/Krittivas/statuses/140001287558275072 

13th Dec - http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/rahul-gandhi-takes-on-mayawati-mulayam-singh/218359 (6:25)

28 Dec - http://in.news.yahoo.com/rahul-gandhi-slams-mayawati-misusing-central-funds-162544092.html 

28 Dec - http://ibnlive.in.com/news/rahuls-challenge-taking-forward-antigraft-movement/215935-37-64.html 

Dec. 2011

The campaign for UP promises to be a fiery one with the Congress and BSP leaving no stone unturned to woo voters

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/all-for-up-mayawati-sacks-4-rahul-pulls-up-mps/215007-37-64.html

Jan 04 - 2012

Rahul Gandhi hits campaign mode for UP polls

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/rahul-gandhi-hits-campaign-mode-for-up-polls-160725?pfrom=home-otherstories

Jan - Rahul carves out a toehold for youth

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/Chunk-HT-UI-AssemblyElections2012-Punjab-OtherStories/Rahul-carves-out-a-toehold-for-youth/Article1-792521.aspx

Jan 11 - In Azamgarh, Rahul tears into Mulayam

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-azamgarh-rahul-tears-into-mulayam/898293/ - 

Jan 12

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/uttar-pradesh-weaver-rahul-gandhi-central-funds-corruption/1/168201.html - 

Jan 18 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/up-polls-rahuls-bundelkhand-trip-a-flop-show/221990-37-64.html

Feb. 12

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/rahul-blames-mayawati-for-plight-of-women-in-uttar-pradesh/20120212.htm

Feb .15 - Will Rahul mantra plus Piryanka magic work?

http://www.ndtv.com/article/assembly-polls/uttar-pradesh-polls-will-rahul-mantra-plus-priyanka-magic-work-176469?pfrom=home-otherstories

Feb.21 - Rahul worked the hardest

http://www.mid-day.com/opinion/2012/feb/200212-opinion-In-UP-they-play-for-a-draw.htm

Fine print...

CNN-IBN and The Hindu are publishing results of a "State of the Nation" poll conducted by Centre for the study of developing societies. The poll is throwing up many interesting facts and will be published all along this week. A more detailed study of the poll will follow later. But for today.... couldn't help but notice something.

Yesterday's results were published in The Hindu. The topic was Rahul Gandhi (disguised in the name of who should be the Prime Minister. Don't believe me? "Opinion on Rahul as Prime Minsiter", "Rahul's trustworthy and pro-poor image", "Rahul better known than his work" - 3 out of 10 questions). Anyway, that is not what I want to talk about now.

19% of the respondents want Rahul Gandhi to become PM and he is the top scorer. Snapshot below.

Now below is a snapshot of IBN's website I took this morning.

A first look suggests that 42% of the public wants him to become PM. But the fine print "Among UPA leaders" is small font, is the key. See below.

Again, look at The Hindu's report:

That's how you report it. How come you glorify 42% and then have "Among UPA leaders tucked away?

My apologies if others were immediately able to spot "Among UPA leaders" at first sight, without the attention going to 42%, the question and Rahul's smiling picture. Only because I knew it was 19%, I searched for the fine print. Again apologies if others didn't find this glaring.

That's all, Your Honour! : July 10-16

1. On the evening of July 13th, terrorists blasted three bombs in Mumbai (again in crowded areas). So far 21 innocent civilians have been killed and more than 150 have been injured. This is the third such blast in the crowded Zaveri Bazar (earlier ones were in 1993 and 2003). Initial investigation is leading to doubts that the IEDs were used in these blasts. Also it is being analysed that Bangladeshi immigrants might have been employed to place these bombs. The Home Minister has told us that this is the first blast in Mumbai since 31 months and therefore it is evidence that security scenario has improved a lot. English TV media went gaga over how calm and composed the Maharashtra CM post these blasts. Later, in an interview to NDTV, the CM cites red tape as the main reason for not being able to procrure equipment to the police. And instead of questioning how as CM he is not able to get over this red-tape, NDTV again called him frank blah blah. The Prime Minister has told us that "we will do everything to prevent the terror attacks". Rahul Gandhi has told us that "99% of terror attacks have been prevented". Perhaps he should talk to the 21 families who have lost their near ones. Or maybe to the 150 injured - and explain to them how 99% of attacks were prevented. Sonia Gandhi, ofcourse hasn't spoken anything.

2. Sadly, this has been a week of tragedies. There has been a train derailment in UP. 35 passengers were killed and more than 100 were injured. And on the same day, in Assam, a local militant group triggered a blast in a train injuring more than 100 passengers. At this point of time, the Prime Minister was the Railway Minister too and asked the Minister of State for Railways to go and visit the Assam site. The MoS refused, saying he is not the railway minister!!! And ofcourse, our Prime Minister was as helpless as ever.

3. There was a central cabinet reshuffle this week. As always, all hype and little substance in this reshuffle. Significant changes include relieving Veerappa Moily from law portfolio and making Jairam Ramesh as the Cabinet minister for Rural affairs. Analysts are confused if this is a promotion (given that they think Jairam will use his experience as a drafting member of NREGA of NAC in UPA 1.0, and will ensure most of Rural India will vote back UPA in 3.0) or if this is a demotion from his hyped stint in Environment ministry. Ohh wait, there is one more thing people are happy - Jayanthi Natrajan is a minister now, so we won't have endure her on TV talk shows :D That's all, your honour!

"Mr. Rambo" and his PR stuff...

Vidya Subramaniam wrote an op-ed in today's Hindu. Titled "The case of missing BJP", the intention was to discuss the BJP's perceived failings as an opposition. And whilst the second part of her article reels out statistics that should get the BJP and its cadre to worry about a lot, there is one more failing of the BJP as Opposition party that she doesn't (or will not) mention.

She dedicates about two paragraphs to the politics of Uttar Pradesh and goes on to talk about the recent Bhatta Parsaul incident in the state. Please read the entire para that am pasting below.

"Conscious of the upcoming 2012 Assembly election, the BJP had jumped into the fight against Mayawati. But once Rahul Gandhi arrived Rambo-like on the scene, the audience quickly moved to his side. Thirsty TV cameras followed the Congress heir's every move, anchors hung on to his every word, and if he made gaffes, as he did, it was so much the better for prime time news. The BJP's Kalraj Mishra shouted himself hoarse. It was apparent that his version of events matched Mr. Gandhi's almost in toto: The police had killed 35 farmers, and hundreds had gone missing, he said, but to no avail. It was the Rahul tamasha that got the spotlight."

Rahul Gandhi arrived "Rambo-like". "Thirsty TV cameras". "every move, every word." The sold out media ensures that no stone is left unturned when it comes up to hyping Rahul Gandhi. Before "Mr.Rambo" came onto the scene, workers and leaders of both Samajwadi Party and BJP participated in the agitation, were arrested by the government. But "thirsty TV cameras" did not find all these news worthy. Mr. Rambo said he found bones of humans under heap of ash. VidyaS very conveniently misses out that point. She equates Mr. Rambo's utterances to what BJP's Kalraj Mishra said (which are entirely two different things). Notice how she uses the word "almost". Mr.Rambo misled the PM and yet the media let him off.

And herein lies the BJPs failure. Why is the BJP failing in exposing this massive PR exercise launched by the Congress in tandem with the Indian media? Why is the BJP not unravelling it's own campaign to counter this sold-out media? Rahul Gandhi is behaving like the opposition leader - his plan is to come to power owing to anti-incumbency of UPA2.0 (which is headed by his mother) and yet BJP is somehow not yet ready to counter this offensive? What exactly is the party waiting for? Rahul Gandhi is the V.P.Singh of this government, and yet BJP fails to attack and counter Rambo's PR effectively. Why? This muted silence on part of BJP is not helping matters at all. BJP's performance in the Parliament has been one of the best in recent times. Yet, there is no massive media coverage. The party needs to go on the offensive big time. It needs to bring up this point in every public meeting, in every press conference. Articles need to appear in newspapers, spokespersons on TV need to counter this regularly. Without this, there is no hope.

The second part of the article has many points for the BJP. However, there is nothing new in her data (some of the data is wrong too). Many many analysts on the internet (some, who are BJP sympathizers too) have spoken about these numbers a long time back. Now that we have these numbers in a main stream paper, the audience has just increased manifold. It should worry the BJP that they don't have any presence in important states. However, in my opinion, if BJP doesn't combat Mr. Rambo's PR blitzkerg in a sold-out media, a win in 2014 still looks a distinct possibility.

Trysts with MSM - Part 17: When Rahul Gandhi became a "martyr"

MSM stands for Main Stream Media

So there was this farmers agitation in UP. As has been the trend across many parts of the country, farmers and poor people are fighting it out for their land. Governments are coming up SEZs etc etc on fertile lands, and naturally there is outrage.

As has happened in many states, police resorted to firing in UP too. Unfortunately, four farmers were killed in this firing. Now, if it is UP and there is a disaster, will Rahul Gandhi be far behind? It has become too routine for him to show up occasionally in UP, demeaning the Mayawati government.

And as always, he comes up with a gem. He says, he is "ashamed of being an Indian" by looking at the problems farmers are facing in UP. Never mind that farmers have been killed in Congress ruled states! The english TV media never dared to question this. They just went gaga over the fact that Rahul went on a bike to join the protesting farmers. They were thrilled that their paymaster was participating in a dharna.

Uttar Pradesh arrested Rahul Gandhi. And all hell broke lose. No, not at the place where he was arrested, but in English TV studios! NDTV CEO had this to say, to fellow tweeter i_panchajanya :

@i_panchajanya the point, which no doubt you are dumb to get, is that this whole drama makes rahul gandhi a hero and martyr.

You read it right, folks. Arresting Rahul Gandhi will make him a martyr. The definition of martyr is this : A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief or cause

Not long ago, I was given a lesson on English 101 by this same Vikram Chandra. And today, he thinks that a mere arrest (that is just formal in nature) will make Rahul Gandhi a martyr. This is the depth to which our media can plunge.

I took the liberty to ask him this:

@vikramchandra Maybe I am "dumb" but could you mind explaining how Rahul became a "martyr"?

And he replies back:

@ssudhirkumar now, Rahul becomes the person "arrested for farmers". Which of the two do you think he would prefer?

Confused - I ask him back:

@vikramchandra so how does that make him "martyr"? plus why is the media not asking why he was silent when the same thing happened in AP?

And ofcourse, not reply after this.

Many politicians across the country court arrest, and they are immediately released on bail. This is a routine drama. What new did Rahul Gandhi do? More importantly, where on earth was Rahul Gandhi when the EXACT same situation happened, not once but twice, in Andhra Pradesh (which is ruled by Congress party, for which he is the general secretary)? Why does the media just forget these important facts while praising him to levels not seen or imagined before? Or maybe I am asking too much ...

Swami Bhakthi

The concept of Swami Bhakthi is simple. It means Devotion to one's Master. For some it is God; for some it is their parents; for some it is their teacher; for some it is their mentor; for NDTV it is the Gandhi family!

The above statement might sound as an exaggeration if looked in isolation. However, let's just look at what happened two days back. India and Pakistan played in the Cricket World Cup semifinal at Mohali. Sensing this as another opportunity to further his redundant peace agenda, our Prime Minister invites the Prime Minister of Pakistan to view the match. So there you go - two big news items. An India-Pakistan semifinal and the two PMs meeting.

But...but NDTV had different plans. Apart from covering these two events, it decided to give some more prominence to showcase Swami Bhakthi again. Sample these:

News item one: "Rahul Gandhi watches slog overs from non-VIP stand" - This is a Press Trust of India report, but given the barrage of Rahul's coverage, what was the need for NDTV to have this too?

News item two: " A billion voices thank men in blue" - This is a slide show put together by NDTV. Picture 1 is that of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Pictures 2 - 5 are titled "Rahul's various moods at Mohali". Really? In a slide show that is titled "billion voices thank...." you devote 4 slides to your master's "various moods"? And what are those "various moods"? "Rahul Gandhi watches the semi-final match between India and Pakistan." - This news item was covered in the first slide, so why repeat the same inane stuff again?

Next - "Rahul acknowledges the crowd." What does acknowledging of the crowd have to do with the "mood" of the person?

Then - "Looks worried about India's fate.". You know what - we are truly worried about India's fate, should this man hold any, I repeat, any position of responsibility. Perhaps we need to concentrate on our worries too, but then that's too much to ask from NDTV.

And lastly - "Rahul Gandhi poses for a fan.". Again - what does this have to do with "mood"?

Now you must be thinking that two news items are more than enough. Here's where NDTV stumps you -

News item three: "Sonia, PM, Gilani at Mohali. " And ofcourse, again Rahul Gandhi's picture in the accompanying collage. However, that is not the issue here. There is an order of preference one needs to follow while talking about those who hold public office. Sometime back, in a headline, The Hindu wrote, "Manmohan, Kalam condemn killing". Two days later it clarified that the headline should have read "Kalam, Manmohan condemn killing" because the President gets precedence over the Prime Minister. A "breach of protocol" was accepted by The Hindu. Now let's get back to what NDTV wrote. "Sonia, PM, Gilani at Mohali" - this is not breach of protocol? Sonia Gandhi gets precedence over the Prime Minister in NDTV's headline, thereby showing where the devotion lies at. It might have been an innocent mistake on the part of NDTV, like that of The Hindu, but then where is the clarification? Where is the correction? Too much to ask I guess, for then the display of devotion will be diluted.

You must now be thinking we are done! And NDTV again decides to stump you! Immediately after the victory, NDTV puts up a collage of our victory and guess whose picture is included in it? No points for guessing.

After outrage by folks on twitter, NDTV removes the picture of Rahul Gandhi from that collage. The word sycophancy got a whole new meaning with this display of devotion by NDTV.

Just realised that today is April 1st. What better day than this, to blog about Rahul Gandhi and NDTV :D.

Special thanks to fellow tweeple Sivachandan, i_panchajanya and archer_2011 for documentation.

Note - The following picture has been added on April 3rd. A day after the final, when India won. On NDTV's home page, is the following image. ""Rahul Gandhi in aam aadmi's stand". "Sonia celebrates on Delhi streets"."

Also, if you are wondering that NDTV's devotion is limited to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi - you are again mistaken. Priyanka Gandhi gets unlimited amounts of that. An old blogpost, talking about a slide show by NDTV here. Pasting it below for a comprehensive view of Swami Bhakthi.

Ladies and Gentlemen. Presenting to you, from the stables of NDTV, Priyanka Gandhi - The new Indira.

Text accompanying picture number 4 in this NDTV link:

"Possessing the same grit as her grandmother, Priyanka has never hesitated in putting her foot down.Much like how Indira took major decisions that eventually altered the course of Indian history."

What are the instances when Priyanka has put her "foot down"? What decisons of hers are comparable to that of Indira Gandhi? What is Priyanka Gandhi's political experience? Running campaigns in her mother's and brother's parliamentary constituencies? Isn't this approximatly a month's work once in 5 years? Given that the constituencies from which they fight elections have traditionally their family bastions, there is really not much scheming and planning involved. Working in an environment where you know that victory is yours, really doesn't qualify a person to be compared to how Indira Gandhi, as Prime Minister took "major decisions", right?

But you see my friends, logic and NDTV don't seem to be very good friends :D

Moving further (photo 5), NDTV also emphatically declares:

" 'Mass appeal' is one among the many qualities that she inherited from her grandmother. Priyanka's popularity drew crowds from far and wide as she often accompanied her mother and brother to their constituencies of Rae Bareilly and Amethi. "

Far and wide? As in from other constituencies? Other states? Other countries? No - we are not supposed to ask. They will just write whatever superlatives fit into the sentence - facts ain't a concern here, you see!

The gem - Text accompanying photo 7:

"Priyanka is reputed as being a good organiser and is believed to be her mother's "chief advisor" on political matters."

What are the events she "organised" to earn this "reputation"? More importantly, can we start holding Priyanka accountable for both successes and failures of political decisions of Sonia Gandhi ? Will NDTV start asking political questions to Priyanka Gandhi from now on? Oops - did I just ask for the moon? :D

The Diamond - Text accompanying photo 8:

"The dressing style of both ladies has been quite similar too.Many manage to catch a glimpse of the iconic leader specially when Priyanka is seen donning starched cotton sarees.Looking impeccable, of course."

Seriously NDTV? This is NEWS?? starched cotton sarees is what is attractive?? Seriously, NDTV?

The bestest is reserved for the last. Text accompanying photo 10:

"Irrespective of the constant comparison between Indira Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, no one can deny the fact that Priyanka's aura is truly her own.Her poise and elegance sets her apart from all others who hail from political families. Truly, a radiant personality who is willing carrying the Nehru-Gandhi legacy forward, but in her own unique way."

Each word smacks so much of sycophancy. Each word is aimed at selling the idea of Priyanka Gandhi as the next Indira Gandhi, when she does not have a single success to boast of. Frankly, it is not surpising that NDTV has stooped to this level to hype up a member of THE family. What is shocking is the openness with which they do it, and yet claim that they are unbiased in their "reporting". Surely, the country deserves better.