"THE 24x7 ENTERTAINMENT"
It is amusing to watch the news these days. Ministers have fisty fights, throw chairs and hurl abuses.
Just the other day a young boy told me that for amusement he watches the news channels. The politicians keep fighting whether inside Parliament or outside. Since most fights are shown on the news it is too good to be missed he said. The fact that different channels have their own version of the same story is always amusing to watch. The funniest is how during Parliament sessions the MPs shout and scream at each other and then proceed towards their various lunch engagements. Each day of Parliament costs Rs 2 crore of the tax-payers money. One wonders why the representatives need to waste this money by fighting with each other?
The aam admi is wondering what is wrong with UPA-II. It was because they had performed well that they were voted back to power. But this time round there is confusion, Ministers don’t see eye to eye and there is no well-thought out strategy to tackle a crisis. What is the reason behind this? Is it because there are so many different power houses within the Government and the Congress? Though, in my opinion, this is not possible. There is obviously only one boss — Sonia Gandhi. The Prime Minister is honest, respected and a good human being. He is trying his best to run the Government smoothly with the coalition partners but there are tantrums being thrown at every step.
Scams, the fighting within the party and Chief Ministers having a verbal dual with the Central Ministers all make good amusement stories for the public. The latest, of course, being who is the next biggie getting bail and coming out of Tihar. How they spent their days behind bars makes for another story.
In the last few years the media has become powerful and bold. This is a good sign. We have to thank them for unearthing all the sting operations and scams. It is impressive how they go out of their way and take risks to bring news. In the process, the mediahouse owners face problems for breaking stories which may embarrass those in power. The politicians need to understand that the media in our country still gives them a wide berth. It leaves personal lives of the politicians out of the pages. The Government blames the media for making Anna Hazare a star. But it forgets that it was the message that he spread which caught the imagination of the common man. The public is tired of corruption, inflation and the behaviour of the Ministers. They can’t imagine these are the people they voted for.
I still remember the fights in the Vidhan Sabha across many States — verbal fights and fist fights and even breaking and throwing chairs into the Well of the House. One got to see them because of the coverage by the news channels.
With so much happening — even a murder mystery (Bhawari Devi case that involves a Rajasthan Minister) — on the news channels why would anybody want to watch a film?
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