NL Hafta

On this week’s NL Hafta, a day that also happened to be World Press Freedom Day, Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Madhu Trehan, Raman Kirpal, and Diksha Madhok, journalist and Digital Director of The Print. The panel was also joined by Newslaundry reporter Amit Bhardwaj who was on call from Mangalore to speak about the Karnataka elections. The panel gets together to discuss issues in the current Indian political system, like the upcoming polls, the state of the Indian judiciary, and more. Abhinandan begins with the subject of the young girl being disrobed on the street by eight youth in Bihar. On this, Madhu points out the dearth of detail in these reports because of lack of on-ground reporters. On the Karnataka elections, the panel discusses it’s coverage in the media, and the narrative adopted by the reports. Diksha opines that the narrative is being controlled. She says that ever since PM Narendra Modi has gone to Karnataka, “he has been trying to turn it from a (CM) Siddaramaiah versus Yeddyurappa battle to a Modi versus Rahul Gandhi battle”. She says “they are clearly trying to deflect attention from the Reddy brothers’ scam”. Amit weighs in, saying the narrative depends largely on which region of Karnataka is being spoken of - “no party whether BJP or Congress has been able to create a pan-Karnataka issue.” However, Madhu expresses doubts on Diksha’s opinion, saying “Modi has been able to avoid corruption, so why would they pick up the Reddy brothers?” As for Raman, he says “in Karnataka, there is an urban-rural divide… Reddys getting ready to fight is not going to affect BJP’s chances.” The panel also discusses exactly how independent or compromised the Supreme Court really is, with reference to Arun Shourie’s latest book Anita Gets Bail. Madhu praises the book: “Everything there is based on facts, on documents - none of it is conjecture.” Moving on to the scenario in AMU and the row over Jinnah’s picture, Abhinandan asks the panel to deliberate over whether or not it is at all an issue. “It is an international issue,” says Madhu, comparing the situation with the taking down of the Confederate statues in America and the statue of Queen Victoria which used to stand by India Gate. She calls it a “satirical art form” that could be laughed at. However, the issue cannot be classified as black or white, according to Abhinandan, and Diksha also points out that with instances like these, it becomes difficult to draw the line at what is acceptable and what isn't. On the Red Fort being “adopted” by the Dalmia Group and outsourcing maintenance of monuments to private parties, Diksha says, “India’s monuments are in a terrible shape right now… It won’t be a bad idea to try some private donors… not the first time this is happening in the world”. Madhu confirms the unfortunate condition of monuments and museums in the capital. Keeping in mind the other end of the spectrum of private firms’ goals - profit generation - Madhu says, “I don’t think national heritage places should be money-making enterprises… very few countries have what we have”. Raman talks about the DND flyover and how it became a money-minting project. Concurring with Madhu’s opinion, he asserts, “Final print is not yet clear; I am a little apprehensive”. Abhinandan acknowledges the “private sector by itself is not evil” but brings the conversation to a pondering note: “Why would someone want to do that (work towards benefit) from the goodness of their heart”? The panel then analyses the statements of Tripura CM Bilab Deb. Diksha refers to him as “a gift to the headliners”. Raman says: “We should certainly tell him he’s a foolish man and whatever he is speaking is garbage… he has to be fixed up.” Madhu confirms that Deb’s suggestions to people to rear livestock and set up paan-shops serves the government’s ulterior motive of promoting entrepreneurship.