Criticism of Narendra Modi is now seen as… Okay strike that sentence. Try this: Anything that is possibly, elliptically, circuitously, remotely, vaguely critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unacceptable in the ‘Mother of Democracy’ as Modi ji himself likes to refer to the electoral autocracy of his own making.
In pure democratic behaviour, one more foreign journalist is asked to leave India because her reported “crossed a line”. Avani Dias works with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and it was a programme on allegations of possible Indian involvement in the assassination of pro-Khalistani activists in Northern America which riled the Modi government.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/australian-broadcasters-india-chief-of-bureau-leaves-india-abruptly-as-visa-is-denied/article68099124.ece
At least 30 foreign journalists who work in India have written an open letter asking the Indian government to facilitate their work, rather than target them: “Foreign journalists in India have grappled with increased restrictions on visas for journalism permits for those holding the status of Overseas Citizen of India. The circumstances of Ms Dias’s departure are further cause for concern.”
What are these lines which may not be crossed?
We see in the ongoing elections that Modi and the BJP to some extent but mainly Modi have no restrictions and no lines. All the restrictions set by the Election Commission and its Model Code of Conduct apply to Opposition parties. Oddly though, some of the lies and misinformation put out by Modi on the campaign trail have been fact-checked and corrected by “new” channels which normally bow down at the mere sound of his name. I have heard from reliable sources that Sudhir Chaudhary of Aaj Tak broke from the norm and exposed Modi’s lies about former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This is totally out of character for him and his channel.
Other “news’ channels sent their TV stars out to interview people on the street and were forced to hear some unpalatable opinions about their dearest Prime Minister. The poor TV stars, so used to endless praise of their lord and master, had to cover their outrage with pasted-on embarrassed smiles against an angry electorate.
I am not suggesting anything at all here, so please don’t suggest that I have crossed any lines. Rather, I’m carefully tiptoeing along because I know very sensitive we are about everything and anything that may hurt our sentiments.
But it is odd is all I’m saying…
Luckily for sanity, the general trend of worship continues. The more the PM lies and misrepresents, the more the media carries his words verbatim, minus context or correction. His statements get more and more outrageous: The Congress will steal your mangalsutra, the Congress will take away your money and give it to Muslims, the Congress will introduce inheritance tax, the Congress will sell the country… it doesn’t matter what he says, the media is unlikely to question him. So in the larger perspective, it’s business as usual. Which in a way makes the aberrations even more difficult to comprehend. You cannot even accuse them of being influenced by “cross the line” foreign journalists, because there is hardly any anger amongst this section of the journalistic community when journalists are treated badly by Government. Now if Rahul Gandhi and nowadays even anyone from AAP is even rude to a journalist, we have huge conniptions and angry explosions.
Meanwhile, our outrage specialists are so caught up in the elections, that terrible news is ignored. Of course I am being unfair, no one really cares about the environment. But the recent report about Himalayan glaciers melting from the World Meteorological Organisation means chilling consequences for India’s Himalayan states and for our water future. But global warming and climate change are only worth discussing when everyone hops off to some foreign land to make large promises and smooth excuses.
If you’re voting today, please stay hydrated and keep your head covered. Next time, the media can maybe petition the Election Commission to use a little brain matter and schedule the elections better.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.