'Obsession with politics blurs the vision'

Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal’s remark that ‘obsession with politics blurs the vision’, must not be looked only in the context that the minister assigned.

Kapil Sibal’s context – broadly on the opposition’s continued demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum allocation scam and specifically on Arun Jaitley’s remark that the manner in which a judicial probe into the 2G spectrum allocation scam was announced may invite breach of Parliamentary privilege.

A little introspection into Kapil Sibal’s own party in another recent episode will betray how obsession with politics has blurred the vision of the Congress party too.

The Congress general secretary, Digvijay Singh’s claim that the ex-Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare had called him two hours before 26/11 attacks to say that his life was in danger, is bound to shock anyone. Digvijay saidthat his initial reaction on hearing about Karkare’s death was, 'Oh God, they have killed him'.

It may be another thing that Hemant Karkare’s widow has accused Digvijay Singh of playing politics with her husband’s death.

A little background about Digvijay’s statement: Karkare was investigating the Malegaon bomb blast allegedly carried out by Hindu extremists. Days after Karkare’s death, the then minority affairs minister AR Antulay made an unsubstantiated statement: Karkare could have been a victim of “terrorism or terrorism plus something”.

Rejecting Digvijay’s entire claim, Kavita Karkare (Hemant Karkare’s wife) ascertained (on Dec’ 12) that if her husband felt threatened by anyone, she would have known. She said that her husband did not get any threat calls and Hindu extremists did not have anything to do with the death of her husband.

Interestingly, the latest disclosures by WikiLeaks point that secret cables sent to United States after a month of the Mumbai attacks revealed, the United States thought that the Congress ‘implicitly endorsed the conspiracy theory’ after initially distancing itself from its own party man AR Antulay’s ‘completely unsubstantiated claims’. And US reportedly feels that the Congress backed the conspiracy theory to please Muslims.

There may be another reason behind Digvijay Singh playing the Muslim card now. The Congress earlier this month appointed Digvijay Singh as in-charge of the party's affairs in Assam, a state which has a high population of Muslims and no political party in the state can think of forming the government without their support.

Now, the Congress party is trying to distance itself from the party general secretary’s controversial remark calling it the leader's personal statement. Had it been any other party which gives its leaders freedom to express their views, it would have been easier to believe this. But not with the Congress.

In a significant revelation, Ms. Kavita Karkare has reportedly denied that Digvijay Singh knew her husband personally, contrary to the defense that the Congress later tried to put.

What is of more significance is Ms. Karkare revealation that during the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections (2009), she was approached by political parties who offered her money to speak to the media and make statements that suited them.

Off course Ms. Kavita Karkare was very clear and said, “no such questions would be entertained.”

Ram Gopal Varma ki Company Khalaas

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma’s visit to the Taj Hotel as part of Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s entourage has bought a lot of criticism for the latter.

To make matters worse, the chief minister’s son Ritiesh Deshmukh was also present there.

Now! The word going around is that Ram Gopal who has already made films on terrorism, will be making a new one on the Mumbai attacks with Ritiesh playing the lead role in it.

The chief minister’s was on an official visit to the hotel to know the damage caused. No doubt, the presence of RGV and son Ritiesh has raised a lot of eyebrows. Moreover, the CM is already on a sticky wicket having earned a lot criticism. His deputy R.R Patil was already forced to submit his resignation.

Here are some SMSes going around about this:

I think he’s planning Ramu Ki Aag Part II. R R Patil will play Gabbar Singh asking ‘Kitne aadmi mare the? Sirf 200?” Shivraj Patil will be the Thakur without power and democracy will dance like Basanti…. Jab tak hain jaan, mein nachungi and we bloody 100 crores, the helpless poor dumb junior artistes will be spectators!

Join the terrorism organised by Deshmukh and Son. Lucky draw for a lead role in Ram Gopal Varma’s D!

Now if the CM finds himself without a , maybe RGV can cast him in one of his , in a role cast off by .

RGV was sent by the Big B to be part of the CM’s entourage. It’s his way of getting back at Sonia Gandhi’s party.

The Live spectacle

The round-the-clock live coverage of the state’s response to the terror attacks in Mumbai has brought to focus the reckless and insensitive attitude of news channels to such crisis. Quite evidently they were competing among themselves with each one of them claiming that “We are the first to have this news or enter this area.”

The media, especially the news channels, was chaotic in its coverage of the terrorist attacks. In their bid to be the first to show a particular picture or tell an exclusive story, they compromised the efforts of the security forces. The second-by- second accounts of the police operation would have even helped the perpetrators to relocate themselves or plan subsequent counter mechanisms. The television crew was on the side of the police, and their coverage showed the steps that the security personnel were taking.

Reporters ducked down and gave sleeping Piece To Cameras with the sound of bullets in the background, as if they were heroes in a thriller movie. The hype factor was never out. Their response gave the impression of “celebrating the tragedy.” Was all this asked for?
One news channel (ZEE NEWS) which was not showing live coverage of the terrorist siege repeatedly kept claiming that “their channel cared about the security” lest the viewers comprehend that they did not have the footage. The repeated claims made one skeptical of the real cause of restrain, so unlikely of the Indian media.

The visuals of blood-stained floors and copses made heart-rending and dismal viewing. The need that the media should tone down their coverage of terrorist strikes was undoubtedly felt. Instead of showing split body parts, they might as well choose subtle ways to showcase vital information.

Time and again, anxious camerapersons and reporters were tripping over their boundary, and security guards had to intervene to send them away. This was more evident on Saturday morning when the siege was over and the NSG platoon was still looking out for booby traps inside the Taj Mahal hotel. Though barred from going near the building, camerapersons and young reporters were too excited to follow instructions. In their race to be the first, they had no time to follow the ethics of their profession.

The media should behave in a way that helps those who are performing their duty. But what we witnessed in the last three days was a situation in which the security personnel were required to tackle the media. The Indian media have a lot to learn from their western counterparts. They need to be reminded of the 9/11 coverage by the American media.

Dipu Shaw
E mail – conciousdipu@gmail.com

India's 9/11

Sixty hours of hostage. 183 innocent lives lost including 20 coveted security personnel, 141 other Indians and 22 foreign nationals. So. What next!

The sadness that I feel for our valiant commandoes and police personnel who laid down their lives while taking on the hiding terrorists in Mumbai overwhelms me. Also for the 183 innocents who paid by giving up their lives while going about their daily chores.

There is disgust over the spineless leadership of our country and their sheer failure to protect the people time and again. The state apparatus bears the primary responsibility for protecting the citizens. It has laid bare its incapability to provide this basic and first necessity. And then they shamelessly come with sickening statements: “We will not tolerate…We are planning to modernize our equipments..”

I feel ashamed that such dastardly acts of terror are getting the support of locals in our own country. Such large scale and well planned carnage surely cannot be carried out without the help of locals, also confirmed from the testimony of Ajmal Amin Kamal, the Pakistani terrorist nabbed alive. The fidayeen has reportedly revealed names and addresses of at least five people from the city who helped the terror operation. There are reports that they not only provided shelter but also took the terrorists around showing them places – the places where the barbarians would carry out their operation to kill at will.

There is a sense of hopelessness. That in spite of being a nation of a hundred billion, who believe in peace, we could do nothing against these fanatics. We only sat at home and watched the perpetrators of violence wreak havoc in the lives of our countrymen.

There is fear in me. The fear that like before our leaders would make the same statements and we will again move on with our lives. This is no time to move on. It is time to confront the issues head-on. To make sure that the political leadership acts.

If the unprecedented terror attacks in Mumbai is India’s 9/11, let us sincerely follow the U.S. make the political leaders realize the seriousness of the peril. The U.S. made sure that 9/11 is not repeated. It is our time to ensure it.