By Ranjona Banerji
Parliament was not allowed to function on March 19, when notice had been given for a No Confidence Motion, moved by former allies of the ruling BJP.
How interesting then that our brave TV “news†anchors tried very hard to justify the Speaker of the House’s stand. Sumitra Mahajan of the BJP adjourned the Lok Sabha for the whole day because members of the AIADMK, currently “friends†of the BJP, were creating a “din†over the sharing of Kaveri waters. The Speaker could not hear over the din on Monday, March 19. However, she did manage to hear over the din last week so that her government could push through the Union Budget and its amendments without discussion.
But why should any of this be of interest to “news†anchors on television when they have to work hard to somehow absolve the BJP of all responsibility for any wrongdoing whatsoever? The severity of the bypoll results in UP and Bihar forced some of them to admit that the BJP and its allies did not do as well as they might have. For that transgression alone, one assumes they and their political masters will have to pay some heavy price unless they make amends. Hence, let us pretend that the “din†in the Lok Sabha was the fault of the Opposition. The ruling NDA (much as the alliance may be crumbling) must not
​be ​
allowed to go through any harmful loss of face.
This is how it appears on the outside. Unfortunately, even NDTV, so far much maligned by “Bhakts†for being a “Congressi†channel, seems to have succumbed to government pressure. The differences are subtle, but the signs are evident: certain anchors who will not take a strong stand are given particular shows and timings, questions are framed to let the person answering off the hook.
Of course, one hears the cries of outrage and charges of being “unfairâ€. Regardless of all that, the primary responsibility is to hold government to account and this needs to be true of every government which comes to power, regardless of the consequences.
Well, doesn’t that sound funny when you read it?
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In print, however, and definitely online, the centre is holding strong for now. That is, things are not falling apart. Since the written word cannot wring the same effect from bombast and hysterics as television, the attempt at journalism is bound to be a little different. Not always better, but different. Interestingly, several columnists who were avowed Narendra Modi fans from 2013 onwards have now become critical of the Centre and/or even more stridently plaintive (if you will forgive the contradiction in my use of words) in their endless advice to the prime minister, none of which he has ever followed.
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The other big story of the week is the expose on how UK firm Cambridge Analytics used Facebook data to influence elections worldwide, including India. However, given that the details of the story are in technological jargon, people’s eyes tend to glaze over. There is a serious need to decode the technology for everyone and alert people to the dangers of how their online data is being misused.
We ignore the reach of technology into our personal lives at our own peril.
https://thewire.in/politics/facebook-to-votes-scandal-turns-spotlight-on-cambridge-analyticas-india-inroads
https://in.reuters.com/article/facebook-cambridge-analytica/factbox-who-is-cambridge-analytica-and-what-did-it-do-idINKBN1GW0A4?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter
​Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor, MxMIndia. The views here are personal​