Frames of shame

Above all, we carried this story because at The Indian Express, the bedrock of our journalism of courage is our readers’ unassailable right, the right to know. Our front pages have testified to this in the past — whether it was the Bofors scam that had irreparably damaged the Congress party, or the Petrol Pump scandal that had severely embarrassed the BJP — and they will continue to do so in the future. In fact, over the last fortnight, this newspaper has not pulled its punches when it came to reporting the campaign games and fiddles of politicians across the board. We have had Messrs Digvijay Singh and Ajit Kumar Jogi, chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh respectively, squirming in discomfort repeatedly. We extensively reported on Digvijay Singh’s power sop to voters on the eve of the elections, a move that was later struck down by the Election Commission. We have been unrelenting in our exposure of Ajit Jogi’s shrewd attempts to win over voters, whether by distributing schoolbags or by peddling religion.

As the tape plays and replays on TV screens nationwide, there will be charges and counter-charges. The Congress will flog the frames of shame, the BJP will try to discredit them. Our only advice: instead of wrestling with shadows, turn the gaze inward. The NDA government, which has several achievements to its credit—and this newspaper has been among the first to applaud them—must clear the stain these frames have brought. That’s its appointed job, of delivering a transparent and trustworthy government. We, on our part, will continue to do ours.