Opinion Storm in tea cup

In the internet and SMS warfare over the Lokpal Bill,the anti-government lobbies have a clear edge. The BJP and the RSS are old hands at using emails and SMSes for propaganda purposes. The Congress,in contrast,has focussed on the traditional media,like newspapers,radio and television. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni complained recently to the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) that worthwhile government programmes were not being publicised properly. The DAVP last week floated a tender for sending out bulk SMS messages and for internet advertising.

Not so transparent

In the interests of transparency,it was felt that the meetings between government representatives and civil society for drafting of the Jan Lokpal Bill should be audiotaped. Although Anna Hazare requested for a copy of the tapes,they haven’t been given to him yet. While the government claims Opposition leaders were not invited to the Lokpal deliberations,the truth is that Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal had specifically suggested that the leader of the Opposition in Parliament should be included in the talks.

Unhealthy pressure

When Anna Hazare began his protest at Jantar Mantar,he said a week’s hunger strike would not be a major problem for him. He is a man of few needs. He has no bank balance,owns no property,does not have diabetes or high blood pressure. But Hazare’s health has taken a turn for the worse ever since he took on the authorities over the Lokpal Bill. His blood pressure shot up and he now he has to take tablets to keep his pressure within limits.

No new start

The re-constitution of the board of the Associated Journals Limited with the inclusion of close friends of Sonia Gandhi,Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda,has sparked rumours that the Congress is planning to re-launch the defunct National Herald newspaper,owned by the publishing house. The National Herald,founded by Nehru seventy-three years ago, suspended publication in 2008. Dubey,however,maintains he has no knowledge of any plans for the imminent revival of the newspaper although the board has held three meetings under chairperson Motilal Vora this year. Dubey also debunks the suggestion that as the only journalist on the board,he will have editorial control. He points out that he is already the editor and publisher in Delhi for the Wall Street Journal’s facsimile edition.

Stop gap policy

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has been selected as India’s next ambassador to the US. But the Americans are not thinking in terms of an immediate replacement for their ambassador to Delhi,Timothy Roemer. The State Department is contemplating,instead,a stop gap arrangement with a charge d’affairs. A new ambassador will most probably be formally appointed only after the US presidential elections in 2012.

Devil’s advocate

Digvijaya Singh’s penchant for playing devil’s advocate for the Congress is something he learnt from the late Arjun Singh,once his mentor. Arjun Singh,also a thakur from Madhya Pradesh,believed he comprehended better than others the true feelings of the Gandhi family,which tends to maintain a sphinx like silence on key issues. Diggy Raja is more successful than Arjun,but even he had to retreat recently when he claimed that it was time for Rahul Gandhi to take over as PM. His remark that the attempted bugging of the finance minister’s office should be probed more thoroughly is another hot potato.