In "National Interest" ...

Today's newspaper looked normal (with UPA blunders, their counter attacks etc) until I turned to the last page.

"Television channels run up Rs. 3 crore bill to Lok Sabha" is the story. These channels are refusing to pay the government, the huge sum of Rs. 1 lakh per year. And the reason they are citing - "National Interest"!

Here's the story. Lok Sabha TV is the only TV channel allowed to film the proceedings of Parliament (one of the best decisions, if you ask me). And all other news channels have to take the feed from LSTV. LSTV gives the channels free of cost, the less than one minute clippings the news channels air on a daily basis. However, for big ticket discussions (like budget, no-confidence motion etc), LSTV is asking the channels to pay just Rs.1 lakh. Like the senior officials tell in the above mentioned report, these news channels make a LOT of money from advertising on occasions like this - so what just are they losing in paying this amount?

The cite "national interest" and demand that LSTV give them the feed free of cost. In "national interest", have you EVER seen any of these channels telecast question hour, and the varied range of questions put forth by members of Parliament? In "national interest", have you EVER seen these channels telecast discussions during "zero hour"? Do their viewers even know what zero hour is? In "national interest", have you EVER seen these channels show us anything other than a walkout, howling, shouting etc, on a regular basis? What we see on these channels, in "national interest" is only distractions in Parliament and not the constructive discussions in Parliament.

When questioned earlier on why constructive debates are not shown, media has chickened out in answering.

And today, these channels are refusing to pay a meagre amount of Rs. 1 lakh citing the most frivolous reasons and worse - are quite confident that they can convince the Speaker too. I sincerely hope, that in "national interest", the Speaker asks them for more money. But then ....

That's all, Your Honour! : June 12-18

1. And the spectre of corruption just never seems to end. The Hindu published a CAG report, which concluded that there has been an as yet "unquantifiable loss" to government (public money) because of largesse showered by the Manmohan Singh government on Reliance. The project in question is the huge oil reserves project in AP - The Krishna-Godavari basin, also known as KG. As many people have pointed out satirically - this government is now embroiled in G scams :D... 2G, CWG and now KG! Anyways, coming to the main issue - there were two main points which CAG pointed out. One - Reliance and Cairn (the operator of the fields) were allowed to take control of vast tracts of land (1600 sq kms) in which no oil resources were found, despite the clause stating so clearly. 1600 sq kms! The second one relates to some capital expenditure inflation (I don't understand financial terms very well :( ) so that Reliance will end up paying less money to the government. And of course, the government has turned a blind eye to this inflation by Reliance - thereby causing a loss that CAG says it can't quantify now. And ofcourse, all this happened under the most honest and decent PM we have ever seen. And ofcourse - the concerned ministry is "examining" the report, your honour!

2. Swami Nigamanand was fasting since February, demanding that mining around Ganga be banned. The Uttarakhand government passed an order banning the mining activities around Ganga, but one of the miners got a stay from High Court. Swami Nigamanand was protesting against this, and went on a fast unto death. And he passed away this week. What is very shocking is that a person was just allowed to die like this. This is really outrageous. There are doubts on his death too - that he was poisoned too. However, none of that is confirmed and in all probability we will never know about the real cause of his death. May his soul rest in peace.

3. And the fight over LokPal continues. Anna Hazare and his team members are vexed with the government. Congress and government are vexed with Anna Hazare and team, and are going all out to discredit them. And the english TV media are joining the chorus with the government. All behaviour is on expected lines - only that general public are being made fools. That's all, your honour!

అదన్నమాట! : జూన్ 12-18

క్రిందటి వారం బొత్స సత్యనారాయణ గారు రాష్ట్ర కాంగ్రెస్స్ అధ్యక్షుడు గా ప్రమాణం చేసారు. ఈ వారం , మంత్రులతో సమావేశం అయ్యారు. అధికారుల తో సమావేశం అయ్యారు. ప్రభుత్వ కార్యక్రమాలు ఎలా జరుగుతునాయో పర్యవేక్షించారు. ఎలా జరపాలో నిర్దేశించారు. అదేంటి - ఇవ్వన్ని ముఖ్యమంత్రి కదా చెయ్యాలి అని మీరు అనుకుంటున్నారా? అక్కడే పపు లో కాలేసార? ప్రభుత్వం కి, పార్టి కి ఎటువంటి తేడా లేదు అంట అండి. అందుకే బొత్స గారు ఇలా విర్ర వీగుతున్నారు అంట ! ఇక మీదట మనం ముఖ్యమంత్రి కి, కాంగ్రెస్స్ అధ్యక్షుడు కి మధ్య పరోక్ష పోరు చూస్తాం. రాష్ట్రం ఎటు పొతే ఏంటి లే....

That's all, Your Honour! : June 5-11

1. If you thought corruption amongst the ministers in the central government has reached its saturation point, then please throw away such thoughts in the dustbin! This week, it is the turn of Dayanidhi Maran, who was telecom minister from 2004-2007 (yes, he was the predecessor to A.Raja, not Arun Shourie as is popularly thought!). The first scam relates to a policy decision by Maran. Apparently, Mr. Maran denied licenses to Aircel for about 2 years citing many vague and frivolous reasons. Once the ownership of Aircel changed hands, license was immediately granted in many important circles. The former owner of Aircel has apparently told the CBI that he was forced to sell his stake to Maxis, a Malaysian company. This company, Maxis has about 20% stake in SUN TV (owned by Dayanidhi's brother)! So now the trail becomes clear :). Not just this - Mr. Maran also got spectrum pricing removed from the terms of reference from the GoM constituted by the honest and decent Prime Minister. Yet, the honest and decent Prime Minister kept quiet.

And then there is a second scam on which honest and decent PM kept quiet. Mr. Maran, as telecom minister, got the BSNL to connect 323 lines to his home in Chennai, and basically used these lines for SUN TV offices. And the worst part of this is that these lines were not connected to any existing exchange. A new exchange was created just for these 323 lines! A secret one that too. On just one phone, about 49 lakh call units were recorded in just one month! This report in Indian Express gives full details of the scam and how the honest and decent Prime Minister sat on the report, and did nothing.

However, honest and decent Prime Minister has enlightened us this week - "All these matters are being looked into by law enforcement agencies. They should be allowed to do their work without fear or favour."

2. This week has also seen hectic political activity in Andhra Pradesh. Damodaram Rajanarsimha, a minister from Telangana region, was appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister for the state. He is currently holding Secondary education and Agriculture portfolios. He is also reportedly insisting on Home Ministry too. If he gets, then it will be good riddance of the present Home Minister in the state. Next appointment of significance was the new Chief of the Congress. Botsa Satyanarayana, currently Transport Minister, was appointed as the new president of the state congress unit. As minister in YSR government, Botsa was embroiled in a Rs. 11 cr scam. And as expected, he came out as not guilty in this scam. Botsa's wife is an MP, brother is an MLA and nephew is also an MLA. Botsa is also known to be very aggresive person and is seen by many as the right person to take on TDP and Y.S.Jagan. However, what is more significant is that the Congress party has decided to erase all memories of YSR. It is solely because of YSR that the Congress party has come into power in the state, twice. It is solely because of him that leaders like Botsa and Kiran Kumar Reddy rose up to these positions. And today, they (along with Sonia Gandhi) have decided to erase YSR's memories for cheap political gains. On the flex poster behind the stage on which Botsa took over as president, photos of obscure leaders were displayed but not YSR's. I am no big fan of YSR, but this shabby treatment to a guy who bought them to power twice will certainly boomerang on this leadership. It is just a matter of time.

3. Baba Ramdev, after being sent out of Delhi, has continued his fast in Haridwar for 9 days. He broke his fast today. The government tried to discredit Ramdev using every possible ridiculous argument. The Home Minister of the country enlightened us by saying that RSS was behind this act of Ramdev. How does it matter if RSS is behind the fast? He obviously no answers for the same. The government, with the co-operation of the English TV media has turned the debate on corruption into a debate on communalism. Wondering what the link between the both is, your honour? That's how low the political discourse has fallen in this country. That's all, your honour!

అదన్నమాట! : జూన్ 5-11

రాష్ట్ర కాంగ్రెస్స్ అద్యక్షుడు గా బొత్స సత్యనారాయణ ని ఈ వారం మ్యాడం నియమించారు. ఆయన చాల అట్టహాసంగా ప్రమాణ స్వీకర కార్యక్రమం చేపట్టాలి అని నిర్ణయించారు. ఇంత వరకు అంతా బానే ఉంది. ప్రమాణ స్వీకారం రోజూ హైదరాబాద్ మొత్తం జెండాలు, పోస్టర్లు అతికించారు. చాలా వాటిలో కనీసం వైఎసార్ గారి బొమ్మ అస్సలు లేదు! ప్రమాణ స్వీకారం జరిగింది గాంధి భవన్ లో. ఎక్కడ వైఎసార్ బొమ్మ లేదు. వేదిక వెనుక చాల పెద్ద పోస్టర్ పెట్టారు. రోశయ్య, కేకే , ఆఖరికి వెంకటసామి బొమ్మ కూడా పెట్టారు. కొత్త అధ్యక్షుడు, శ్రీ బొత్స గారు కాని, ముఖ్యమంత్రి గారు కాని, కనీసం వైఎసార్ గారి పేరు కూడా ప్రస్తావించలేదు.

అసలు ఇంత సిగ్గు లేకుండా ఎలా ఉంటారు అండి ఈ రాజకీయ నాయకులు ? వీళు రెండు సార్లు అధికారం లోకి వచ్చారు అంటే, వైఎసార్ గారి చలవే. అధికారం లోకి వచాక, విచ్చల విడి గా సంపాదించారు అంటే, వైఎసార్ వల్లే. బొత్స గారు అప్పట్లో వోక్స్ వాగెన్ కుంభకోణం లో ఇరుకునప్పుడు ఆయనను కాపిడింది వైఎసార్ గారే. మొన్న ఆ మధ్య ధర్మాన ప్రసాద రావు గారు శ్రీకాకుళం లో ఏమో అభివృధి పనులు అన్ని సోనియా గాంధి చలవే అని సెలవు ఇచ్చారు. ఇంత చండాలమైన మనస్తత్వం ఉండే ఈ కాంగ్రెస్స్ నాయకులు త్వరగా ఓడిపోవాలి అండి. వీలకి తెలిసి రావాలి అండి - వల్ల ఎదుగుదల కి దోహద పడిన వ్యక్తీ ని విస్మరిస్తే ఏమి జరుగుతుందో.

అలాగని వైఎసార్ గారి కొడుకు జగన్ గారు గెలవాలి అని కోరుకోవటం లేదు అండి. అయన వస్తే ఇంకా సర్వ నాశనం మన రాష్ట్రం. ఈ కాంగ్రెస్స్ నాయకులు మాత్రం సోనియా గాంధి, రాహుల్ గాంధి, రాజీవ్ గాంధి నామ స్మరణ తో శేష జీవితం గడిపెస్కుంటారు ఏమో.

That's all, Your Honour! : May 29 - June 4

1. Yoga guru, Baba Ramdev announced sometime back that we will begin a fast unto death from the 4th of June, demanding that the black money that is stashed away in foreign banks be bought back and also be declared as national asset. When he reached Delhi, 4 Cabinet ministers including Pranad Mukherjee and Kapil Sibal went to the airport to meet him and persuade him to stop this fast. After facing flak over such bank-bending, the government reduced the negotiating team to just two Cabinet ministers. And of course, since there was all round flak, it was also revealed that Sonia Gandhi was not kept in the loop for this decision. Anyways, so the negotiations continue and break too. June 4th arrives and it is then that some light is shed on Baba Ramdev's demands. Some of the demands in the list are too brazen, like death penalty for corrupt officials, abolishing Rs.1000 and Rs.500 notes etc. He begins his fast on the morning of 4th. Announces in the evening that government has agreed to his demand of declaring black money as national asset. He says that once the written confirmation arrives from the government, he will end his fast. And here's where the twist happens. Kapil Sibal shows a letter to the media, written by one of the members of Baba's camp, assuring the government that he will end the fast by June 6th (not sure about the exact content, because believe it or not, no media publication has the full copy of the letter so far).

And from here, all hell breaks lose. Ramdev is caught on the backfoot, and media goes on the offensive saying Ramdev betrayed his supporters. Ramdev clarifies that they were forced to write that letter, and since he didn' believe the government until they gave a written clarification, he assured them that the fast will be called off once the written confirmation comes in. Ramdev gets angry with Kapil Sibal too. Meanwhile, rumours start circulating that the government was planning to arrest Baba Ramdev. And in what can be considered as one of the most shameless actions by the government of India, police scoop into the fasting ground at midnight, arrest Baba Ramdev, use teargas to disperse supporters, and also lathicharge them. Before the supporters and agitators knew what hit them, they were evacuated from the ground.

No single English TV media house showed us pictures of those injured. Until the leader of opposition, Sushma Swaraj informed us of names of people who were seveerly injured (some paralysed for life too). What was their fault? Supporting someone they believe? A midnight attack on people sleeping is how we treat peaceful protestors now? The government claims that they were afraid terrorists will infiltrate into the massive crowd, hence the action was warranted. Congress spokesperson Digvijay Singh calls Bab Ramdev a thug and he deserved this treatment (Digvijay addressed Osama as Binladen ji), Kapil Sibal says this should serve as a lesson for all (if this doesn't amount to threatening then what does?). So now what should we believe? Terror threat? Thug Menace? Or muscle show by government?

2. Earlier this month, there was an attack by Al-Qaeda on a naval base in Karachi. It was a 10-12 hour long battle. One journalist, Syed Saleem Shahzad, wrote a blistering piece detailing how Al Qaeda has penetrated into the Pakistan Navy. Soon he was kidnapped, and his body was found two days later. The body had marks of torture all over, and it is largely suspected that the intelligence agencies of Pakistan are behind this brutal murder. Every week, we think there is no further proof required to show that Pakistan is in an abyss, a new development just reminds us that Pakistan is yet to stop digging further into that abyss. No dissenting voice is free in that country - the country is now beyond repair, your honour!

అదన్నమాట! : మే 29 - జూన్ 4

జగనన్న ప్రగల్భాలు పలకడం లో చాలా ఆరి తెరిపోయాడు . కాంగ్రెస్స్ మరియు తెలుగు దేశం కలిసిపోయాయి అంట అండి ! అసలు ఇలాంటి చేత ఆలోచనలు ఎందుకు వస్తాయో ఎంతో జగనన్న కి. తెలుగు దేశం ఎందుకు అవివిస్వాస తీర్మానం పెట్టటం లేదు అని జగనన్న ప్రశ్నించారు. అవిశ్వాస తీర్మానం అసెంబ్లీ సమవీసం లో ఉన్నపుడు కదా అన్నా పెట్టేది ? అబ్బాద్దలు ప్రచారం చెయ్యడానికి నిజాలతో సంభందం ఏంటి లెండి.

అయితే, ఇలాంటి సమయం లో ప్రభుత్వం ఒక ఆసిక్తికర నిర్ణయం తీసుకుంది. స్పీకర్ ఎన్నిక త్వరగా జరిపించాలి అని, అందు కోసం ప్రత్యెక ఒక రోజూ సమావేశం ఏర్పాటు చేసింది. ఇప్పుడు మరి జగనన్న చిక్కు లో పడినట్టే కదా అండి ? తెలుగు దేశం పార్టి అవిశ్వాస తీర్మానానికి నోటీసు ఇచ్చింది. ఇప్పుడు జగనన్న ఏమో నియమాలకి విరుద్దంగా తెలుగు దేశం నోటీసు ఇచ్చింది అని ప్రగాభాలు పలికారు. తెలుగు దేశం పార్టి, స్పీకర్ పదవి కి కూడా పోటికి నిలబడాలి అని నిర్ణయించింది. ఇప్పుడు జగనన్న ఎమ్యెల్యేలు ఎవరికీ వోటు వేసారో తెలుసా అండి ? కాంగ్రెస్స్ అభ్యర్ది నాదెండ్ల మనోహర్ కి !! ఇన్ని ప్రగల్భాలు పలికిన శ్రీమాన్ జగన్ మోహన్ రెడ్డి గారు, కనీసం వారి ఎమ్యెల్యేలు ని ధైర్యం గా స్పీకర్ కి వ్యతిరేకంగా వోటు కూడా వెయ్యినివ్వలేకే పోయారు ! పై పెచ్చు, తెలుగు దేశం మీద విరగబడ్డారు. అవిశ్వాస తీర్మానం గురుంచి అసెంబ్లీ లో స్పీకర్ ని ఎందుకు నిలదీయలేదు అని !

ఇంత కన్నా హాస్యాస్పదం ఏమైనా ఉందా అండి ? స్పీకర్ , దేపుతి స్పీకర్ ఎన్నిక అయ్యిన వెంటనే అసెంబ్లీ ని వాయద వేసారు. దీనికి తెదేపా ఏమి చేస్తుంది అండి ? అప్పటికి అసెంబ్లీ లో ధర్నా చేసింది. నిభందనలకు విరుద్దంగా నోటీసు ఇచ్చింది అని ప్రగల్భాలు పలికిన జగన్ నోరు మూయించడానికి మళ్ళి శనివారం ఉదయం ఇంకో నోటీసు కూడా ఇచ్చింది. స్పీకర్ కి వ్యతిరేకంగా జగనన్న ఎందుకు అయన ఎమఎల్యేల చేత వోటు వేయించ లేకపోయారు ? కనేర్ర చేస్తే ప్రభుత్వం పడిపోతుంది అని రోజూ చెప్పే జగన్, అసలు కనేర్ర ఎందుకు చెయ్యటం లేదు? తెలుగు దేశం మీద ఎందుకు ఆధార పడుతునారు అద్యక్షా ??

"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.

That's all, Your Honour! : May 22-28

Back to blogging after a hectic 2 months of travelling :)

1. The trial of David Headley began in a Chicago court this week. For those who are not sure about who this guy is, an old blogpost explaining the obvious case of David Headley. David Headley has been revealing a lot of stuff, that is news to the world, but not to us in India. He has detailed how ISI and LeT were actively involved in planning and executing the 26/11 attacks. Evidence was also presented, detailing cash flows, which again confirmed ISI's hand in these attacks. David Headley also informed the court that he was inspired into Jihad by Hafiz Saeed - the same Hafiz Saeed whom Pakistan refuses to arrest and even tells us that he is involved in charity work! Our Prime Minister has again reiterated his willingness to continue talking to Pakistan, whilst acknowledging that there is nothing new in Headley's revelations! He even has sagely advice for Pakistan - "It goes without saying that we must use every possible opportunity to talk to Pakistan and convince them that terror as an instrument of state policy is simply not acceptable to people in the civilised world as a whole." If a country needs "convincing" that terror is undesirable in this world, pray what exactly will you "discuss" with that country?

2. The "nataka" in Karnataka seems to be never ending. A recent Supreme Court judgement found the Speaker's action in disqualifying 11 BJP and 5 Independent MLAs wrong. This prompted the most hyper active governor in India to recommend President's rule in the state! This, despite the fact that these 11 disqualified BJP MLAs have decided to come back to the party and support the Chief Minister. Somehow, our hyperactive governor still found reason to recommend President's rule in the state! He met the Prime Minister on a Saturday and recommended President's rule next day. It is impossible to believe that this topic did not come up for discussion between both these eminences. Anyways, the central government has rejected the Governor's report. Despite the Governor's many such irresponsible actions, the Home Minister enlightens us that the governor is just doing his "job"!

3. UPA has completed 7 years in power. Actually, 2 years in their second stint. They name this UPA 2.0 and they kind of want us to believe that UPA 1.0 never existed. So we are talking about two years in power for UPA. And in these two years, the countrymen have been made to see and hear scam numbers that they cannot even imagine in their wildest of their dreams. With excellent support from the English TV media, the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi have managed to come out squeaky clean in this whole process. Even the 2G scam is now being made to look like something the DMK did without the knowledge of any other coalition partner. Mere rhetoric from the Prime Minister and Sonia that "we will root out corruption" hogs headlines, as if we are to trust them. Leaving Corruption aside, there has not been even one single big reform that this government has carried out. Mere status quo is being maintained. When UPA 2.0 took over, we were all told that since the Left parties don't have control on the government like the UPA1.0, there will be big ticket reforms. And after 2 years, the PM still talks about the "need" for reforms. His speeches sound like as if he has nothing to do with governance in the country! However, the government seems to be not worried too much, given that the opposition is yet to pick up any strength amongst the masses. Since there is no alternative, UPA2.0 thinks UPA3.0 is a mere formality! That's all, your honour!

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 ...