Right to Recall is a must and it is possible also

Right to Recall is a must and it is possible also

By M.G.  Vaidya

    -The Election Commission is reported to have opposed one of the major points in the Electoral Reforms demand, viz Right to Recall the elected representative. The Chief Election Commissioner has said that "such a move would bring instability as the losers could start such a campaign from day one." He further pointed out that "this would also hamper development activities because of frequent elections and imposition of Model Code of Conduct." Senior BJP leader LK Advani too is reported to  have shared the Election Commission's view. I beg to differ from them.

    Many thinking people think that there is an urgent need to reform our prevalent electoral system. And one of the main points is the Right to Recall the elected candidate. Team Anna, too insists on this point. But Anna Hazare is not the initiator of this demand. If I remember correctly, the Sarvodaya people had made this demand quite a few years ago. I, too, in my weekly Marathi column published on September 4, 2011, had discussed the issue of electoral reforms and one of the points in that article is the right to recall (The complete article is available on www.mgvaidya.b logspot.com). It is reported that team Anna, which included Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Kiran Bedi had called on the Chief Election Commissioner and discussed this point. A news item, as published in the media, says that the team has agreed to further examine this point of their demand. It can be inferred that the team Anna is not definite on its demand. I feel,  Anna Hazare and his team should be firm and not vacillate.

    I think this right is essential, and it is possible too. If a successful candidate is alleged to have employed fraudulent means and/or has committed breach of electoral rules, his election can be challenged. Number of election petitions are made, and if the elected person is found guilty, his election is annulled and a fresh election takes place. There is nothing extraordinary about this. Election Commission must have handled such re-election processes  a number of times. If an offender is punishable for offences during the election process, why not for offences after the election?

    I give two examples. One is of Shibu Soren, who along with his party members had taken bribe from the then Government, headed by PV Narasimha Rao. Did all those JMM MPs-so-called representatives of the people lose their membership of the Lok Sabha? The other example is more recent. In July 2008, quite a few MPs were bribed either to vote for the Government of Dr Manmohan Singh or abstain from voting feigning illness. The matter is sub-judice. What punishment, did those who accepted the bribe money get? They are all free and continue to represent the people. Should people not think of rejecting their representative character?

    My question is why should people suffer such representatives? Why should they not have a right to reject them, and elect new ones? I admit that the process of recalling will not be easy. But I have a workable suggestion. I elucidate :

    An aplication signed by at least 10 per cent of the total voters, who had cast their vote, in the election that had elected this unwanted person, should come to the Election Commission with a security of Rs 25,000. The EC will then arrange for a fresh election. But, this election will be done by a Special Electoral College (SEC). This Electoral College, in the case of a member of State Legislature, will consist of all members of the Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, Zilla Parishads and Municipal Committees, falling within the area of that Assembly constituency. It should be noted that all these members are elected representatives of the people. If desired, this SEC may have some representatives of the civil society in the form of all headmasters of recognised primary and secondary schools in that area. If the resolution recalling the elected person gets 60 per cent or more votes, his election shall be invalidate, and a fresh election will be declared. The process of this fresh election will be similer to any by-election caused by death, or resignation or disqualification of an elected person. For the purpose of this election by a SEC, promulgation of the moral code shall not be necessary. In the by-election that will follow, the recalled member shall be debarred from contesting it.

    In the matter of a MP the membership of the SEC may be changed. Instead of all members of the village Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, and ZPs, only the Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall have a voting right. But all members of the Municipal Committees and all Councillors in the Corporations in that area will have the voting right. To add representation of the civil society, all Principals of recognised colleges and all Readers and Professors at the Univercity level, residing in that constituency may be included. If the resolution for recalling the elected member fails to get 60 per cent but gets 40 per cent or more votes, the security deposit shall be refunded. If it gets less than 40 per cent the security deposit will be forfeited. This will serve as a check on frivolous applications.

    I don't claim that my proposal is final or exhaustive. It can be rejected in toto or amended. What I am interested in, is some serious debate on this issue.

    (The writer is former Chief Editor of  Marathi daily Tarun Bharat, Nagpur)
Source: Organiser - Weekly      Date: 12/10/2011 9:51:47 PM

SPECIAL INTERVIEW OF MR NITIN GADKARI - It is not for the BJP to help Congress run the government

SPECIAL INTERVIEW

It is not for the BJP to help Congress  run the government

    -BJP is the answer. Congress graph is sinking because of its dubious record. We feel sorry that the Congress ruined the big gains the NDA made during its tenure.

    Erudite, dynamic and youthful BJP president  Shri Nitin Gadkari has an uphill task, to reform, reinvent, restate and revive the classic BJP moorings that transformed the party from a bit player to the main party of India in the last two decades. The present national scene where the people have revolted against the super class culture of the Indian political class, Gadkari, emphasising the core values of his organisation, insists that politics cannot be a means to make money. Corrupt people who have taken to politics to make money should look for their activity elsewhere, not in BJP. The uplift of the last person, in the social strata, Antyodaya, is the BJP's goal and the party unlike the Congress is pro-poor in its approach.

    Presenting the correct image of the BJP is the leader's immediate priority. In this context, he argues, it is for the Congress to run the government. "It is not our job to help it run government. The Congress because of the huge scandals and governance paralysis is a sinking ship. The BJP is the only, and certainly a better alternative", he says. Excerpts from an exclusive interview by the Organiser Editor Dr R Balasankar.

    Traditionally, the BJP had an image of being pro-poor, and a party of the commoner. Of late however this image has been dented and an elitist image has come to stick. Is the party doing something to retrieve its original image or planning to carry on with the new impression?

    The BJP is a pro-poor party. Our main constituents consist of people from weaker sections and common man. We can never become a party of the rich and elite. We stand for social change, we want the emancipation of the people in the lowest strata of the society. Our candidates belonging to the SC, ST and OBC get elected in large numbers. So naturally we reflect the concerns of these sections.

    It is also necessary to consider the difference between the image and reality. Unfortunately, there is a deliberate attempt to paint the BJP pro-rich, pro-US, etc. We stand for a strong, prosperous, self-reliant India. Today the condition of our poor people is so bad that there is an urgent need to ameliorate and improve it. The farmers, villages and poor feel neglected because of the elitist Congress approach. We are fighting and exposing it. We will not allow the exploitation of our farmers to benefit the multinational companies.

    What is your idea of politics in the context of globalisation?

    For us politics is a mission for societal renewal.A large number of people in states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, have benefitted through the party's good governance projects such as Antyodaya Mela and Poverty Eradication campaigns at the district level. Our country has to attain a growth level of 12 per cent and our agriculture sector has to grow double digit to attain all round prosperity and employment generation. The UPA in the last seven years has failed us in all this respect.

    The economic targets achieved by the Vajpayee government were excellent. The high growth rate in the initial stages of the UPA government were the result of the good work done by the NDA.

    Why is it that the economy is declining at every sector under Manmohan Singh and you have not so far made a comparative study of this aspect?

    The most striking aspect is that the UPA under Dr Manmohan Singh has totally mismanaged the economy. Inflation is in double digit, Food prices are skyrocketing, interest rates are high which makes investment costlier, production is low, infrastructure is in poor shape and now the rupee is falling steadily and growth is derailed. The agriculture sector is in a crisis leading to suicides  by farmers. In all this the government is looking helpless. There is practically a holiday in governance in the last seven years. The government initially reaped the benefit of the investment and infrastructure initiatives of the Vajpayee government.Now people have realised the difference, how inflation, interest rates, prices of essential items were low and investment, production and governance were high under the Vajpayee government. Now there is scarcity in the energy sector, capital is flying away, FDI is the lowest ever, stock market has crashed. Under our government every sector of the economy was booming.

    Is it the outcome of a policy mismatch or lack of initiative?

    It is both. Take our service sector. A growing sector under NDA. A big foreign exchange earner. Now it is in crisis. BPOs are relocating from India. Tourism is a major area of growth. It can generate huge employment potential. But that is also in doldrums. Today, because of the lack of storage facility, foodgrains worth Rs 58,000 crore is getting wasted.Why is not the government making sufficient number of storage facilities  at the district and village level. The irrigation projects are not getting completed for lack of funds at the State level. The Centre should bear fifty per cent of the burden of irrigation projects with the states.

    The UPA claims that it is for better storage, transportation and investment in the farm sector that the retail FDI is being allowed?

    That is a façade. These are things we have to do. With our money. No foreign retailer is going to build our farm infrastructure. We are totally opposed to FDI in retail sector. It will destroy our agriculture. We cannot allow it.

    Your campaign against corruption has exposed the UPA. But there are problems within your party. How will you tackle  them?

    Was there any serious allegation against Shri Yeddyurappa? Now the Lokayukta has indicted S M Krishna and Kumaraswamy . Has the Congress removed Krishna?There are no allegations against Shivraj Singh Chauhan , Narendra Modi or Arjun Munda. Our governments are rated better than all Congress governments by all parameters.

    Whenever there is a complaint against any of our government, we have immediately taken action. There is no place for corrupt people in our organisation. In Karnataka, for instance, we have our own views regarding the Lokayukta report. But we have acted on it and the Chief Minister was replaced. Compare this against the Congress response. The Congress at every stage has tried to protect its corrupt people.  P Chidambaram is equally guilty as Raja. The Congress took action  against Raja because of the court intervention and pressure from us. Sheila Dikshit and her ministers are indicted by various inquiry committees and the Lokayukta. Similar charges are there against the Congress governments in Goa and Rajasthan. But no action is taken. We have an uncompromising stand on corruption. We will fight it at all levels. Legislative or parliamentary seat or chief ministership or ministership cannot be a means to make money. Those who want to do politics through corrupt means are not welcome here.

    How will you ensure that the BJP keeps itself off corrupt people when politics itself has come to be regarded as business by another name?

    Politics cannot be a means to make money. If anybody in the party thinks like that they should leave the party. I want to make it very clear that we will not allow such contamination. Those who want to make money should choose some other profession like, industry, trade, agriculture and do it properly and honestly.The regeneration and rebuilding of our country is our goal. Governments will come and go. That cannot be the sole priority of a political party.

    Are you taking any step to implement such screening to cleanse the system?

    This is a continuous process. We educate our cadre to take up constructive work at the village level. NGO activities are encouraged. On Atalji's birthday  i.e. December 25, we are observing countrywide 'Good Governance Day'. Our NDA government at the Centre was one of the best in  history. There was all round progress, there was no suicides due to poverty, lots of jobs were generated. Atali is the icon of good governance. There was no corruption charge levelled against our government.There was big progress. We want to take the country towards progress. Our workers at all levels will take a pledge to this effect. We can only provide a direction but the vision has also to develop.We conduct training camps, leadership promotion camps, etc to motivate our cadre.

    So what is the vision of your party?

    Our slogan is good governance and development. Antyodaya, the economic philosophy of Deendayalji is our economic agenda. Nationalism is our inspiration. The country comes first, then the party and the individual only in the end. Our greatest strength is our worker who is totally dedicated to the nation. What is important for us is not to come to power but to change the condition of our poor people, the future of the country. This is our dream and we will always work for this.

    You are entering the third year of your presidency. In the last two years how have you shaped the BJP as a main Opposition, and a cadre based mass party and what direction have you given?

    BJP is in a better position today. Ours is a democratic party. We have developed a system of working as a team. I have largely succeeded in this. Our acivities have increased. Both within and outside we have played an active role. Today the Centre is in big trouble because of our continuous agitation. In Bihar we have swept the polls. In Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh, in all bypolls we registered good success. On the whole the party has projected a strong, united picture. Today there is greater trust, in the cadre and people have great faith about us. The Congress is on the backfoot because of black money, corruption in 2G Scam, CWG and price rise. We have highlighted all this in the public. There is tremendous enthusiasm in the cadre because of all this. We have during this period, trained 30,000 workers for party work. We have computerised the entire working of the party offices and we are preparing now a vision document. We are sure that party will make big inroads in the coming months and in the coming Lok Sabha poll in 2014, form the next government at the Centre.

    What is your prospect in the coming State Assembly elections next year, particularly in Uttar Pradesh?

    I think we are in a position to make big gains in UP. The party is more united there now than ever. We are not a party of dynasty where one individual owns the party and others are all employees. We all  are equal workers of the party. We are doing well and our campaign has begun.

    Some newspapers  reported that the BJP will have some adjustments with the SP or BSP after the polls to form government in UP?

    Certainly not. The question does not arise. We will not compromise with Mayawati or Mulayam Singh and repeat the mistakes of the past. This is a big canard deliberately being spread to discredit us. We are the real alternative there. People have seen the misrule, lawlessness and corruption under the two parties. Congress is trying to create this confusion to make itself relevant in the State. This is a ploy of Rahul Gandhi's media managers to spread this rumour. It is difficult for Congress to even cross double digit. People won't allow the return of Mulayam's 'goonda raj'. People supported Mayawati last time impressed by her promise to put Mulayam Singh behind bars. But she could not do that and it has exposed her. Mayawati has crossed all limits of corruption. We are the only alternative. Congress is not in a position even to show its face after the humongous scandals it has perpetrated in the country.

    Is there some confusion in UP poll scene because the BJP has not declared its chief minister candidate?

    The chief minister will be decided by the elected legislators of the party.

    What is the confusion about the status of Uma Bharati in UP. There was report that she will be contesting election from UP. Is it true that some UP leaders are not happy with the development?

    There is nothing of the sort. Umaji is a senior BJP leader and  not a provincial leader. She has a respectable image in the whole country. She hails from a place  adjacent to UP and because of that she is equally popular in the State also. Her entry has enthused the cadre. She is not contesting to become chief minister. Reality is that the party is fighting under the collective leadership of Rajnath Singh, Kalraj Mishra, Uma Bharati and Suryapratap Sahi.

    Has the induction of Sanjay Joshi into the party and his active role in UP helped the party in UP?

    Yes. His return has helped tremendously. Sanjayji and Umaji together have made a big difference for the party and improved our position. Because of this we will get a big boost in the State and the results wll be very positive.

    Do you expect a midterm poll because of the contradictions in the UPA?

    People have elected the Congress for five years. So it is for them to run the goverment. It is not our job to help them run the government. Because of its own mistakes Congress is steadily sinking. So people are talking of midterm poll. But we will not force an election . We have not made any such effort. But we are prepared to fight the poll anytime it comes.

    What is BJP's prospect in the next election?

    As of now the BJP and its allies are ruling 36 per cent of the population. The UPA states are limited to only 32 per cent of the population. Wherever our governments are in power, they are working better and are more popular. We think we are a better alternative and the people have accepted the fact.
Source: Organiser - Weekly      Date: 12/11/2011

Bollywood remembers the evergreen hero

PTI "It is like I lost life from my body," said Naseeruddin Shah (Left), who is seen with the legendary actor Dev Anand in this recent photo.

Shock and disbelief gripped the Hindi film world as the news spread about the death of Dev Anand with Bollywood stars saying an era has come to an end with the passing away of the "eveready battery."

Actor Waheeda Rehman, who worked with him in the classic Guide and several other films, said, "She was sad to hear the news because he was her first hero and she did maximum films with him. We had to learn so much from him because he had so much energy in him. I used to tell him 'Dev you are like an eveready battery."

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan wrote on twitter, "An era has come to an end ...Dev Anand leaves a void never perhaps to be filled again... his never give up belief, his joy of life!,"

"Had just met Dev Saheb at his premiere recently... he was weak but full of spirit… the newspapers confirming his passing away… sad. Just reading news about Dev Saheb... praying it is not true! He was such a positive person...never associated death with him," he said.

Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar said, "He never looked back and never regretted anything. He was a great personality."

"Dev Anand is dead. As the new dawn breaks over Mumbai I salute the memory of this star who has left us with the glow of his smile," veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said.

"So as a Tribute to Dev Saab let's only humm his songs today. Songs which became such an integral part of our lives. 'Abhi na jao chodkar'. Dev Saab was kind, passionate, courageous, forthright, charming, encouraging, contemporary, always a leader and a great human. Will Miss him," Anupam Kher wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Actor Madhuri Dixit said, "Sad to hear about Dev Anand's demise. Another icon leaves the stage. My condolences to his family. We will miss him."

"Shocked to read of the passing of Dev Saab. Such a great man and actor. A symbol of positivity. Never believed I would ever wake up to this news. Very sad!," tweeted actor Abhishek Bachchan.

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar said, "Still the news is not sinking in, had celebrated his birthday with him, Devsaab was full of energy and life then, just can't believe!"

"On behalf of the family I thank everyone for the thousands of messages of love pouring in from all over the world on passing of Dev Anand. Can I ask friends frm [from] Media to be a little patient? The family is still coming to terms with his passing," filmmaker Shekhar Kapur said about his uncle.

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur tweeted, "My Uncle Dev Anand. V spoke about him as if he would live forever. May be he will. That which seemed immortal passes into myth."

Actor Naseeruddin Shah said, "I still remember one of his songs 'main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya'...while listening to this song, I feel Dev saab is still with us. We always prayed for his well being. He was very close to me. It is like I lost life from my body."

Actor Rishi Kapoor said it is hard to imagine death of someone so full of life. "You can't imagine a person like Dev Anand not living. that man is evergreen and he would always be evergreen. He was a contemporary of my father but he actually behaved younger to my son Ranbir. He lived life to the fullest," Rishi said.

"One of the worst years so far, evergreen romantic actor, director Dev Anand saab, the one who romanced with life is no more but he dies young," Akshay Kumar tweeted.

"Abhi naa jao chhodkar key dil abhi Bhara nahi (a song featuring Dev Anand)... Sad to hear abt [about] Devsaabs demise... May god give him peace," singer Shankar Mahadevan said in his tweet.

"Just got the sad news Dev Anandsahab passed away. I've always been a huge fan of his. And grown up watching his dynamic films. RIP," actor Neil Nitin Mukesh tweeted.

"Can't believe Devsaab is no more? A real institution, dreamer, believer & the grtest [greatest] romantic because he LOVED life. A truly sad say. RIP sir," singer Sophie Choudhary said.

"The last I met Devsaab was at his premiere, sitting next to him, n seeing his smiling face, full of zest energy n enthusiasm!...RIP devsaab! Knowing u working what you is cherished! My evergreen hero! will miss u sir!," actor Divya Dutta said.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee said, "Sad news. Evergreen slept forever. May he rest in peace! He will be conspicuous by his absence."

"Rest In Peace Dev Saab... Your chivalry, charm, optimism and your great body of work will never be forgotten," tweeted actor Dia Mirza.

"Rip dev anand... spread love & never give up attitude just went ahead and did whatever he wanted .. My favourite actor!!! Rip dev anand ... spread love & a never give up attitude just went ahead and did whatever he wanted... My favourite actor!!!, said filmmaker Goldie Behl said.

--



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CD on Bal Thackeray released

CD on Bal Thackeray released

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and party's executive president Uddhav Thackeray released a CD — a compilation of Bal Thackeray's speeches, interviews, articles and photographs — here on Sunday on the occasion of the senior Thackeray's 84th birthday. According to a press release issued by the party, the CD titled “Hinduhridaysamrat — Vicharanche Sone and Bindhast Bole” is an edited compilation of his Dasara rally speeches, his interviews and articles written by famous personalities on him in the past 20 years.
Record of struggle
“This CD is a record of the historic struggle of the Shiv Sena. It will be an inspiration for the future generations,” Mr. Uddhav Thackeray said. The ‘Hinduhridaysamrat' section has articles by persons like George Fernandes, Rajnikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Nana Patekar, Nitin Gadkari, Khushwant Singh, Durga Bhagwat, Muzaffar Hussein, Javed Miandad, among others.
‘Vicharanche Sone' (gold of thoughts) is a compilation of information of the Sena's annual Dasara rallies since 1989. It captures the crowds, the environment of the rally in photographs. It also contains his speeches ‘Bindhast Bol' (Talk carefree) has his interviews on varied topics, including one taken by Shashi Bhalekar on ‘Hindutva.' It also consists of various interviews taken during 1995 election rallies and the interviews by Sanjay Raut for Sena mouthpiece Saamna.

Cartoonist Thackeray calls on Common Man

 Cartoonist Thackeray calls on Common Man

Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray meets veteran cartoonist R.K. Laxman at his residence in Pune on Thursday evening. Two friends, who have known each other for more than 50 years, met, reliving old times and shedding a tear or two on the memories. Nothing unusual except that the two are legendary cartoonists R.K. Laxman and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Mr. Thackeray (85) visited Mr. Laxman (90) in his Pune residence on Thursday evening to enquire about his health.
“When he saw me, the poor chap started crying,” Mr. Thackeray, who is a cartoonist himself, told journalists. First meeting The two first met in 1945 when Mr. Laxman joined The Free Press Journal, where Mr. Thackeray was already working as cartoonist. “We worked together till 1950 after which he joined The Times of India,” he said. He was accompanied by his son Uddhav Thackeray and grandson Aditya.
“Today, only I was speaking, as Laxman cannot talk. The very hand that sketched politicians is shaking today,” Mr Thackeray said. Mr. Laxman, who suffered a stroke in 2010, cannot talk, and uses his hands much.
In spite of that, he drew his favourite character, the Common Man, for his old friend, which Mr. Thackeray proudly displayed to reporters. “The standard of caricaturists has gone down today. In our times, one cartoon was equal to a hundred editorials. Today's cartoons lack that fun element,” Mr Thackeray said. Speaking to The Hindu earlier in the day, Mr. Laxman's wife Kamala said, “We have known him for very long. Laxman is very fond of him. He is visiting us in Pune for the first time.”

Ministry taps social media to tone up image abroad

Ministry taps social media to tone up image abroad

The Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs is tapping the ever-buzzing world of online social networks for improving the image of the nation worldwide.

Its ongoing short video challenge, ‘India is,' has received more than 50 entries from across the world since October 1. The competition's official page on Facebook has a following of more than 20,000 users, and Twitter is abuzz with mentions.

“One of our key objectives is to engage with diverse audiences around the world,” Navdeep Suri, Joint Secretary and head of the Division, said in an email interview with The Hindu. “Social media is emerging as one of the key instruments that helps us in achieving this objective.”

The video challenge that calls for users to submit entries running to a maximum of three minutes on one of the three themes — ‘India is colourful,' ‘India is creative' and ‘India is wherever you are' — has received interesting user-generating content not just from India but also from video enthusiasts abroad, including the U.S. and even a college student from Romania.

The idea is similar to the hugely successful ‘Democracy is' campaign the United States government's Bureau of International Information Programs ran in association with YouTube in 2008. More than 6,000 people from 132 countries had participated.

The competition has already received diverse entries. Some look very professional, while a few others, despite looking amateurish, score in terms of content.

One of the neater looking videos is ‘The Beach,' made by 24-year-old Atmika Didawania from Mumbai. A film school graduate from the University of South California, she shot the video on the Chowpatty beach using a DSLR camera and edited it within a day. “The concept of the competition sounded very innovative. What immediately struck me was to show the colours and the chaos of the beach, which is very unique to our country,” she said in a telephone interview.

A more surprising entry is from a Romanian student Varga Hilda Hedwig, who narrates in near chaste Hindi what she finds captivating about the Indian culture. The competition has so far drawn entries from eight countries.

The Ministry's Facebook account has close to 20,000 fans, says Mr. Suri. The demographics of the Facebook fans makes for interesting reading: persons from South Asian countries, Indonesia and Egypt are some of the largest groupings. And nearly 52 per cent of them are in the 18-24 age group. “We are trying to deploy Facebook to engage with the younger generation and build a community of ‘Friends of India' who are interested in diverse facets of Indian culture and, perhaps, in Indian foreign policy too,” he adds

Media Matters: The people multiplier 

SEVANTI NINAN  

   Who's drawing the crowds to Ramlila Maidan: the television channels, the people or Anna Hazare himself?

Was the “second freedom movement” enabled by television or mobilisation, or the man himself? The answer varied depending on which TV reporter or anchor you spoke to at the Ramlila Maidan.

“We've become Anna's PR agency,” smiled a young woman from an enthusiastic English news channel. Another reporter, who had stayed with covering the Lok Pal Bill movement in the months between the two fasts, said the India Against Corruption people had been doing steady mobilisation across the country in the interim, which enabled the momentum visible over the last two weeks, and that the strategic support solicited from spiritual leaders like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar early on, had certainly helped. Art of Living volunteers were visible across the maidan.

Simple appeal

However Ashutosh, managing editor of CNN IBN, said that he had spent 11 sweat-drenched hours on the grounds the previous day but the crowd never thinned during that period. Even when there was a heavy downpour. “Television can bring people; it cannot force them to sit there for hours.” It was Anna Hazare and his simple common sense that they were responding to — “television cannot make you bigger than you are. TV killed Ramdev because the basic honesty was missing. The moral fibre was not there.”

But even as he said that a man on the dais was bellowing into the mike, “media logon ne hamare andolan ko mazboot kar diya.” (Media people have strengthened our movement.) Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni had said tartly at the three-minister press conference after Hazare's arrest, “Aaj ki andolan media ki dam per hi chal raha hai.” (This movement is running on media power.) But eight days on, from that moment, it wasn't that clear any more who needed whom more.

Outside the row of entrances to the Ramlila maidan were parked a long row of outdoor broadcasting vans for news channels all across the country: NewsLive and DY 365 from Assam, PTC news from Punjab, TV9 from Andhra Pradesh. OB vans are the jantantra multiplier. What they telecast puts pressure on the government, minute by minute. Facebook posts and tweets had their place as movement amplifiers and extenders (even Sri Sri Ravi Shankar tweeted after he visited Anna in jail) but TV news' decision to stay with this story and relegate all other news in the country to a scroll at the bottom of the screen, had, surely, helped to create mind space.

Using television

Knowing how to use television, having former Star News and Zee News people on the Anna team, his top lieutenants taking time out every day to visit channel studios (helpfully created on the edge of the maidan), a daily press conference at the maidan... all of this combined to foreground corruption as an issue that surpassed all others and produced the extraordinary spectacle of a government scrambling in response every time someone like Arvind Kejriwal upped the ante.

Despite the fact that their very own Doordarshan tried its darnedest to project that the government had the upper hand. If you ever saw a crowd shot on the public service broadcaster over the entire period, it was likely to be in Tripoli.

Leading lines

TV anchors in India have a touch more hubris than their counterparts elsewhere. Just reporting history in the making is banal, let us try and shape it. Zee News anchor and editor Punya Prasun Bajpai did an amazing soliloquy on the national flag from the Ramlila grounds on the morning that Anna Hazare finally agreed to emerge from jail. Was the tiranga becoming the symbol of Anna's sangharsh, he intoned. “Tiranga lehrane ka matlab: sangharsh!”

On Times Now, Arnab Goswami outdid himself. First the hyping: “the greatest ever mass movement seen in a decade, and whether the government is responding as it should. Back in two minutes.” Then the hustling: “What I find absolutely astounding is the deep faith in the Standing Committee.” Then, the setting of deadlines. “Is the government going to initiate negotiations tomorrow?”

On day seven Rajdeep Sardesai decided CNN IBN should be part of the action. Breaking news: CNN IBN's own five-point formula to end the impasse. Later that night Karan Thapar was purveying one of those points on his show on the same channel: Should the government withdraw its bill?

When you've decided Anna's jang or battle is yours, you strategise accordingly. Aaj Tak was labelling the proceedings “Anna ka August Kranti,” harking back to Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India speech. You have to love the questions anchors were asking. Can we say we are witnessing a war, one of them asked his reporter? War requires soldiers. Aaj Tak was running a gallery of pictures of the army of reporters it was deploying. Over 50. Other battles from history or mythology were invoked. IBN 7 celebrated Kejriwal as Anna ka Arjun.

And there was always music when an anchor posed a dramatic question at the end of a segment and exited; rousing music, which would merge into the music of the Chavanprash Harry Potter ad or Air Tel's new anthem on friendship.

(This column was written on the morning of Wednesday, August 24. 2011, THE HINDU)