The world between quote, unquote

8220;There should be a law against the media getting interviews.8217;8217; I said to no one in particular. 8216;8216;Gone are the days ...

8220;There should be a law against the media getting interviews.8217;8217; I said to no one in particular. 8216;8216;Gone are the days when reporters were trained stenographers who would take down every word, re-check with the interviewee before putting anything down.8217;8217;

8216;8216;Globalisation has changed all that,8217;8217; piped in Mukul, my man Friday-cum-know all in all matters, 8216;8216;which is the reason I conducted special courses for a host of important people.8217;8217;

8216;8216;Does it include the American Ambassador in India, David Mulford,8217;8217; I asked, 8216;8216;who announced that either India aligns with the US on Iran nuclear issue or face the music? Talk of timing. This is just one week before the Iran vote and weeks before the Bush visit.8217;8217;

8216;8216;The timing certainly was not appropriate,8217;8217; explained Mukul. 8216;8216;In fact the American Ambassador on my advice has claimed diplomatic immunity. You know if they cannot be fined or arrested in India because of diplomatic privileges, why can8217;t they claim diplomatic immunity when it comes to their statements? Apparently the Foreign Secretary did not have any answer to this.8217;8217;

8216;8216;But what about Home Minister Shivraj Patil?8217;8217; I pointed out. 8216;8216;With the media screaming for Buta Singh8217;s resignation all the Home Minister would say was he had read only 250 pages of a 450-page judgment.8217;8217;

8216;8216;I explained to him that if he had read half the judgment in one day, he would finish the judgment in two days,8217;8217; said Mukul.

8216;8216;Why should the Home Minister himself read every punctuation mark, comma and full stop of the judgment?8217;8217; I interrupted. 8216;8216;This is ridiculous.8217;8217;

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8216;8216;Actually he should have said he does not have the time to read the entire judgment,8217;8217; ventured Mukul. 8216;8216;He is a busy Home Minister who works 14 hours. Ten hours go in routine office work. Out of the fours left he should be given at least two hours with the family, attending to toilet chores, reading papers etc. Of the two hours at least one hour, fourty-five minutes would go in political matters, an hour of which he would have to spend discussing what Sonia Gandhi thinks of him.8217;8217;

8216;8216;In effect he is left with only 15 minutes to read the judgment?8217;8217; I asked.

8216;8216;Precisely,8217;8217; exclaimed Mukul. 8216;8216;If he reads one page in 15 minutes he would take at least 450 days to read the judgment. Logically Shivraj Patil could have taken a year to decide on Buta.8217;8217;

8216;8216;I8217;m sure Buta would agree,8217;8217; I pointed out.

8216;8216;But there again Buta could have been more forthcoming,8217;8217; argued Mukul. 8216;8216;He was clear that he had to take the Republic Day salute. If people are after him, his ultimate sacrifice was taking the Republic Day salute8212;the least Bihar could do for a governor who held the highest traditions of democracy.8217;8217;

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8216;8216;The wily Deve Gowda is also making mistakes,8217;8217; I pointed out. 8216;8216;Everyone believes that he and his son Kumaraswamy have actually ganged up. No one believes that his resignation is motivated by principles.8217;8217;

8216;8216;But Deve Gowda has publicly expressed disappointment with his son,8217;8217; countered Mukul, 8216;8216;and to make it more convincing Kumaraswamy, his son, has said that Gowda would continue to remain his father and grandfather of all secular forces.8217;8217;

8216;8216;With all these developments, what is the scope for your media school?8217;8217; I wondered.

8216;8216;It8217;s a tough call,8217;8217; reasoned Mukul, 8216;8216;but it will certainly get a head start if Shivraj Patil and Mulford are on the board of governors.8217;8217;