India 2016.

Finance, and Information & Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley in a tweet has condemned the recent attacks on journalists. Mr. Jaitley with quite diligence and hopefully conviction too, have been condemning similar incidents 'online', such as he did when a journalists in Uttar Pradesh suffered similar fate. In the same vein, Mr. Jaitley has also mentioned that politicians and journalists should know their facts.

Through Mr. Jaitley’s Facebook post and some blogs, a large section of this country is aware that the well renowned lawyer does not have a reputation for thrift in words, or ideas. In fact, he has come up with some seething headlines and quotes – tyranny of the unelected, manufactured revolt – much to both envy and delight of editors in newsrooms.  So, going by that high standards there were expectations that he may ditch the 140 character platform and expound a bit on this issue as well.

Since he has not, let us assume what he could have said if he had decided to…

Facts & Beyond

If one is to dispassionately analyse the present issue, it may be not unfair to say that journalist were thrashed because they went beyond their brief. As you all know I have been regularly interacting with senior editors and in some cases promoters, so I am mostly aware of what makes a good story and in some cases the news list.

In this case in particular, I am told – not by OP Sharma – reporters wanted to know that on what basis some JNU students were arrested on charges of sedition. Now that is going well beyond their brief. They were to report on what’s happening and not on the why and how. That part has been already covered by some channels and dailies in detail and I do not see any reason to go further into that debate.

The other argument, which I am hearing that how can those reckless students be anti-national just for mouthing some slogans against our country, and that BJP should not have a problem because after all we have a coalition government, till now, with PDP in J&K, where shouting anti-India slogans is the norm.

Now, here am speaking with some experience for you know that I have been active in politics since my university days. In fact, this is nothing like the Emergency era, when whatever you said was deemed anti-national. I have been through those times and trust me we are doing a much better job. Borrowing a line from my Rajya Sabha speech, I will like to stress that…“there are worst illustrations in history when Constitutional systems are used to subvert the Constitution.” So lawyers taking up violence in the court premises do not fall under this constitution category.

As you all know that I can easily tear apart any argument on what is the definition of nationalism, but remember that those who opposing us has always had ‘ideological intolerance towards the BJP.’

This whole JNU issue is again “politics by other means,” for if these JNUites are as patriotic as they claim, why did not their “their collective conscience was shaken by the corruption involving lakhs of crores between 2004 and 2014?”

As the outgoing Delhi police commissioner has said on hacks being thrashed that it was a minor incident and rightly pointed out that it was fallout of emotive issue, you may appreciate that ‘nobody has alleged any governmental complacency in these crimes.’

The shouting of slogans by some foolhardy students was a manufactured paper rebellion, which ought to be crushed at the very outset for otherwise it would have led to a manufactured crisis of a larger level.

Jai Hind.