By Ranjona Banerji​
Is the story about “fake news†over, now that Narendra Modi rode in to “rescue†the media and “snubbed†I&B minister Smriti Irani for taking this decision to punish journalists all by her little self? We are supposed to believe that an all-knowing, all-controlling Prime Minister had no inkling that this gem to control the media was being carefully cut and polished in the I&B ministry? That Irani took a unanimous decision? What price a Cabinet and collective responsibility, eh?
It is far more likely that someone in the PMO realised that a PR disaster was brewing, that this “control the media†plan had backfired and it was decided to throw Irani under the bus. Or, she may indeed have volunteered to take the flak so the boss could come out smelling of roses. As the Telegraph, Kolkata succinctly put it, Irani became the “sacrificial lambâ€.
(Aside: is there an English language newspaper as brave as the Telegraph today, in the way it takes on the Central government? And compare the Telegraph to the way its founder-editor MJ Akbar retweets patently “fake news†from well-known fake news websites? On the second thought, do not think about what has happened to MJ Akbar ever since he joined the BJP and became a minister. It is very depressing.)
While the news cycle moves on, it is worthwhile remembering that the Goa government is considering moves to gag the media with new “accreditation†guidelines. That the Rajasthan government only recently had to withdraw a notification that practically made any reporting on the government punishable by law. And that the Uttarakhand government tried to block media access to government and then had to take that back as well.
https://scroll.in/article/874396/not-just-smriti-iranis-ministry-in-goa-too-dismay-over-new-accreditation-rules-for-journalists
Eternal vigilance and all that.
And then, there is this: an idea for a tracking device on accredited journalists as they move through government offices:
https://theprint.in/governance/smriti-iranis-ib-ministry-media-unit-wants-to-track-journalists-with-rfid/46941/
As we have learnt, this government is obsessed with technology and tracking devices. Was it not Sudhir Chaudhury of Zee and DNA and whatnot who had informed us that the new ₹2000 notes would have a chip embedded in them? This way, presumably, the government would know if the note was stuffed inside a mattress or in a bank or in your wallet. Alas, it turned out to be “fake news†and luckily no one was punished for it. Though if you are a loyal to the government hack, you could get a Padma award or write press releases for some important person. So much honour.
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Many within the media and without have reminded everyone that this government and the BJP are not the first to try and muzzle the media and indeed that is true. From Indira Gandhi onwards, it has been tried over and over again. It has failed in an official way but sadly, it often succeeds unofficially. The number of journalists, many well-known, who have lost their jobs and columns because they have taken on this government and its friends is quite distressingly astounding. Some journalists have lost their lives for daring to take on local governments and local business interests. We forget all this far too easily.
To our own peril.
​Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor, MxMIndia. The views here are personal​