How politicians let their hair down
Life is so uncertain nowadays that everyone wants to celebrate whatever the occasion and one can't blame the politicians alone for this. They are also human after all.
But the media coverage of two such recent celebrations shows that the relationship between the media and the political class has undergone a major change over the years.
Far from viewing the politician as always being an adversary as was taught in journalism classes, today the media does not mind pampering them when it needs them.
But when it does not get the information it wants or when it feels threatened, the media can up its antenna and attack them viciously even though the politician in the eye of the storm is hardly bothered about the fallout of the controversy.
The second kind of journalism was much in evidence in the coverage of the killing of a young boy in Shamli while the Samajwadi Party was celebrating its victory in an election by firing in the air.
The Times Now reporter and photographer tried to get the local MLA Nahid Hasan to answers a few questions by reaching his house. Instead, they were forced to delete the footage from the camera by his supporters and the female reporter also got a mouthful from them – she said they threatened to break her bones.
This was enough provocation for Times Now anchor Arnab Goswami to haul the Samajwadi Party leaders over the coals and accuse it of spreading goondaism in the state. He commanded that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav should appear before him on his programme to answer questions.
The print version of the TOI, however, put out a mild four-para story on the inside pages using words like ‘allegedly attacked’ and ‘allegedly held hostage’’ even though it was quoting its own staffers.
The other counterpart of the celebratory firing story was the Indian of the Year programme organised by NDTV where it invited celebrities from all fields of life to either give away the awards or receive them.
During the programme, when the host Barkha Dutt invited Bollywood star Ranveer Singh on stage, he immediately broke into a jig with Dutt. After a few awkward moments she said that she would invite the only person who could match steps with him - Dr Farooq Abdullah – to come on stage. And there he was to perform as per the command.
This clip of Dr Abdullah gleefully matching steps with the hero of Bajirao Mastani has gone viral. Those who watched it were a little amused that at a time when Jammu and Kashmir is in a state of suspended political animation with Mehbooba Mufti refusing to sign on the dotted line, here was a former chief minister showing off his dancing prowess.
The man who once confessed that his ambition was to take Shabana Azmi for a ride on his bike seems not a bit concerned about enjoying his personal choices publicly and the media assembled at the programme was actually egging him on.
There was a time when cameras or mikes were enough to send VIPs, especially otherwise garrulous politicians, into silent mode. Most of us who had to cover politics had no option but to play the game according to their rules and had to file news attributing it to sources close to the neta or his friends.
Today the situation is very different. With the ubiquitous camera following them at every step and TV journalists on the prowl for their bytes, politicians seem to have become bolder and more open.
The newer breed can get away with the most brazen of statements or actions without inviting disciplinary action.They are not scared of the High Command because good behaviour and honesty in public life are no longer the criteria for distribution of tickets. The only criterion is the winnability of the candidate. Charges of tickets being sold at the time of elections could be one reason for this defiant attitude.
Similarly, a statement recently made by the Maharashtra Minister Eknath Khadse during an official programme to the effect that “we send packets to journalists to get news and pictures published” has not elicited an apology from the party or protests from media organisations. This is a slur on the entire media community but if no one is taking him seriously, it puts a question mark on the credibility of both.
Talking of celebrations, only rarely does this obsessive compulsion to break into dance get punished. But an exception was Uttarakhand where Rao Sajjad Khan, who was given ministerial status recently, was in too much of a hurry to celebrate his appointment as Chief of the Waqf Development Council. Media reports showed him performing the ‘Tamanche Pe Disco’ number by taking out his revolver at a function. Chief Minister Harish Rawat was not amused and removed him within 24 hours of appointing him.
However Uttar Pradesh seems to have a different culture. Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, once a serious contender for the Prime Minister’s post, ensures that his birthday in Saifai is celebrated in style with Bollywood stars in attendance. The media keeps showing his flashy birthday celebrations every year and trashing them but they continue without a break because Yadav genuinely believes that ‘boys will be boys.’
Yet another reason that such such celebrations continue as an annual ritual despite the hullabaloo created by Arnab Goswami and others of his ilk is that they do not seem to affect the electoral prospects of the party.
In February 2014, the media put out a video showing the Samajwadi Party MLA from Muzaffarnagar, the late Chitaranjan Swaroop, dancing with bar girls on stage while other party leaders showered currency notes on her.
This video evoked a very strong reaction from the media at the time as Muzaffarnagar had been in the news for riots but the assembly by-elections results later in the same year showed the party winning 9 of the 11 assembly seats.
Bihar has its own set of politicians who are not too bothered about the niceties of public life. A Janata Dal (United) MLA, Shyam Bahadur Singh likes to dance with a bar girl, literally holding her in his lap and performing vulgar gestures. He is a repeat offender.
The man is incorrigible. He was caught in the act for the first time in 2010 when an event was organised in his constituency of Barharia in Siwan district. In 2012, he repeated the performance at a marriage party. After this, he was issued a warning by the party. In one of the videos, he is shown holding his ears and promising not to repeat his behaviour. But a video circulated this month shows Singh in his element again.
Have politicians developed a new style, jettisoning the old fake frugality and prudery? Or it is just that they reflect a changing society? Hard to say....
Amitabh Srivastava has worked with the Hindustan Times group for 27 years, and with the Sahara Times. He is now a freelance journalist. He recently worked for a year with Prayas as a media advisor which gave him an insight into the world of juveniles who encounter the justice system.