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Banerjee’s attempt to control the discourse around her government has taken several ludicrous turns: she handpicked pro-Trinamool papers for government-funded libraries,told the people not to watch news channels and switch to music channels. For every finger pointed at her government,whether it was over a professor’s arrest over a cartoon or over farmer suicides and rapes,she pointed to “conspiracies” and “propaganda”. Instead of using the meagre funds in the treasury to start a newspaper and a channel,she — as well as Gogoi — should invest their energies in changing the news,the bold-faced headlines,coming out of the state. Or,would Banerjee’s “poribortan” be so paltry,so imperceptible,that it would require her to climb up mastheads and shout for the people to take notice?

The grand,me-centric communication projects of governments have run their course. When even DD is looking for greater autonomy,when tightly controlled single narratives have little cache before the robustness of mass media and the constant chatter in social media,Banerjee should change her political script,instead of hoping to airbrush the narrative.