NaMo Interview – Sardesai’s Sheer Incompetence

I haven’t seen too many gaffes from Narendra Modi while speaking to reporters. But it only proves he is as much a “mango man” like any of us. In his interview to Rajdeep Sardesai (at 15.58) NaMo called Rajdeep: “Sarkardesai” or “Sarkadardesai”. The audio cackles but I’m positive it’s one of those two words. That’s a welcome gaffe though. Rajdeep Sardesai (RS) is often fondly called “Turdesai”, “Slurdesai” or even “Sardardesai”. What is serious, though, is his interview with Modi is disappointing. Why? Because despite what borders on hate-campaign against Modi, be it when Rajdeep was in StarNews, NDTV or now in CNN-IBN, Modi has spoken to him quite often. It’s disappointing, also because RS had a great chance to ask some very valid and probing questions to Modi. He screwed up! Like a third rate reporter RS landed up in Modi’s campaign bus without much homework, without much fact-checking. He could get away with any other politician with this but when you get a rare chance to interview Modi you need to make the most of it. FAIL. (View the full interview and transcripts here).

RS, you see, is too used to mindless and meaningless debates and frequently interviewing guttermouths like Digivijay. In the process he has neither discovered nor practiced the skill of good interviewing. RS has for too long been talking to politicians full of trash and nonsense that makes Rajdeep look intelligent; people who dish out “Zero Loss” or “mother earth”. However, Modi, like a well-informed auditor seems to have facts, data and information on everything in Gujarat, including small districts, at his finger-tips. In contrast Rajdeep brings the same foolish style of interviewing as he would employ with a Diggy, Sibal, RenukaC or Teesta. I stated in an earlier post: “Those who are used to crumbs are not likely to possess the nose of a hound”. You can guess what RS is used to. So come along with me, let’s look at some bits and pieces from this shoddy interview (edited excerpts in blue).

RS: But Modiji, Swami Vivekanand was a saintly person… You are using his name to garner support amongst the people, that's what your opponents say.

NM: As I told you already, we are celebrating this year as the Yuva Varsh. And it was not I who decided that the 150th anniversary of Swami Vivekanand would fall this year. It was decided 150 years ago. So it's not my fault that it fell this year.

Peddling some “personal” rant as a question is the serious problem with our media crooks. This is a nation inspired by saints. So what exactly is Rajdeep’s problem? Morons who cannot raise a single question to the issue of over 450 schemes, projects, roads, monuments, metro stations named and used for electoral gains by the Nehru-Gandhi clan are so worried that Swami Vivekananda’s name is being used for political gains. See homework?

RS: But I am talking about now. Now that the elections are imminent, aren't you focusing more on Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh than on Swami Vivekanand?

Is Sonia Gandhi or MMS Rajdeep’s aunty or father in law that worries him? Umm.. let’s see is there an appropriate time or place to rake up issues on SoniaG or MMS? Will Rajdeep decide when the right is time to raise the questions? Who gave such a right to this divine comic? Incompetence!

RS: The PMO did clarify that only Rs 3 lakh were spent on Sonia Gandhi's foreign trips. You had offered to apologise if the figure you quoted - that of Rs 1880 crore - and the newspaper reports were proven wrong. That’s right, RS and his gang is so used to crumbs thrown to them by PMO or the govt (like zero loss or mother earth) that they don’t bother to check the accuracy of their statements. Would anyone really believe only 3 lakhs were spent on SG travels? Is RS such an irredeemable idiot? Has he ever asked which airline she uses, who provides her aircrafts for travels? In any case this is not interviewing, this is "phishing" for sound-bites and headlines.

RS: Modiji you have said that your election campaign will revolve around Swami Vivekanand and focus on development. So what made you attack Sonia Gandhi, nearly three months after the reports on expenditure incurred on her foreign visits were published? Question is, what stopped the media asking these questions. Why should it even take Modi to ask them? Cowards who prostrate in front of the Gandhi family now also want other parties and politicians to stop asking questions of SoniaG. Isn’t that lovely? The Vivekanand campaign ended on October 11, so should Modi stop his campaign? Does campaign on development mean not asking any question on wasteful expenditure or non-disclosures by the centre? Incompetence!

RS: SoniaG, during her rally in Saurashtra, raised the issue of water supply. She said that the water of Narmada was yet to be made available to that region….

NM: You should be aware of a show that your channel ran two years ago on the amazing methods of water conservation and usage in Gujarat.

RS: Yes, yes… It was on dry land farming.

Again, SoniaG raised the issue… Sonia this, Sonia that! What is this guy? SoniaG’s broker or PR agent? Doesn’t he have any questions of his own? And even when he asks the question he forgets homework on a report his own channel had done. Incompetence!

RS: The Congress government leveled some charges regarding land allotments against you for which you set up the MB Shah Commission.

NM: See, Justice Shah is a respected SC judge. And he found out that one of the land allotments, that the Congress alleged was a Rs 65,000 crore scam, was made in 1983, when the Congress was in power. So the Shah Commission said that if this former Congress chief minister were to know the allegations leveled against him by his own party, he would be really disappointed.

Now, every time Manish Tiwari or Sibal screamed about land scam in Gujarat did RS ever ask them that this particular scam was under a Congress CM? Did he even read the Justice Shah report at all before asking such a stupid question? Stupid, because the Shah Commission has already cleared Modi of any wrong-doing. No homework, Incompetence! Slapped again!

RS: Sir how do you perceive SoniaG's attack on you in 2007 when she called you 'maut ka saudagar' referring to 2002 riots. You are still targeted because of this. How do you perceive such attacks?

NM: I give my best wishes to the RS, that he has been harping on this issue for the past 10 years, that he gets his daily bread by harping on this issue.

RS: No, there is nothing like that…

NM: You have to listen.

This is where Modi told RS:“Sunna padega bhai.. tumhari roji roti mujhe gaali dene se chalti hai" . Translated: You have to listen.. you earn your daily bread by abusing me. Slapped, again!

RS: My final question. I know you don't like it but it is something that your opponents feel and talk about. I know you see me as your opponent. But I am a political analyst. (Haha! He forgot to add Numero Uno). My question is that people feel that Narendra Modi must apologise for the 2002 riots if he has to become the Prime Minister of the country. Your message to them… What would you like to say to those people?

NM: I said that those people who earn their daily bread out of criticising me, and are awarded for the same, they have my best wishes.

RS: I did receive the Padma Shri but that was for journalism. So you are not going to answer that question of mine? Regarding your apology for the 2002 riots.

Haha! I wish that were true. Yeah.. even Barkha Dutt has received a Padma Shri. Oh even Shekhar Gupta (the Army coup guy) has received one. What about that DLF guy? DLF is so much in the news lately. Even the head of DLF Kushalpal Singh received a Padma Bhushan. His terminology for bribing: “facilitate speedy disposal” to Shekhar Gupta is actually worthy of a Nobel Prize. RS received Padma Shri for journalism! Poonam Pandey is more honest about her pursuits. Post the interview RS held a debate, as usual, over his monumental achievement. One of the panellists said Narendra Modi holds many important portfolios and doesn’t delegate. RS should think about that, it actually applies more to him. Any given day, Anubha Bhonsle or Suhasini Haider would have conducted a much better interview. But the media celebs too live under the notion that only they are qualified to conduct such interviews. A miserable RS who can’t speak one coherent sentence without stuttering, stammering and without homework is hardly the right guy to interview a sharp politician.

In the entire interview RS had nothing to really ask, especially nothing that was not already discussed in the media for days and months. Not much about Gujarat, not much about development. Nothing! All he wanted like a broken record was talk about 2002, his personal wet dreams of “apology” and, of course, acting a broker for Sonia Gandhi. In a 23-minute interview (excluding other visuals) Sonia was mentioned 21 times because of RS’s questions. That’s almost once every minute! Was RS from CNN-IBN or Sonia’s stable? Students of journalism should definitely watch this interview video to learn what stupid things they should not do. To do their homework and to ask questions that really matter and not poke around with some personal agenda. In 10 years Rajdeep hasn’t been able to fool Narendra Modi. Worse, he hasn’t been able to fool the public either. I have modest advice for him: Stick to interviewing Digvijay and Teesta, you won’t get slapped and won’t have your moronery exposed. 

FTN: The Gandhis & Vardabhai

Even when one wishes to give some credit to the Social Genius for finally picking up courage to talk about the Gandhi family she spoils it by inviting panellists whose views on the topic are already well-known. Still, she does deserve credit for breaking the silence. Unlike a debate for an election contest or winning a prize, a debate on TV need not be for and against. It can simply be on established and verifiable facts against myths or lies. So Sagarika Ghose picks up the flavour of the season in “Does the Indian media steer clear of reporting on the Gandhi family”? Ordinarily, that question shouldn’t even need a debate. It is now established beyond any doubt that the Gandhi family is shrouded in secrecy except for old clips and some stray sound-bites, mostly from election campaigns. Secrecy about their travels, meetings, health – nothing is in the public domain.

You’ve got the home team in S. Vardarajan, (SV) or Vardabhai for short, of The Hindu. Varda and Vadra have a nice ring to it. You had Vinod ‘Smirk’ Sharma of Hindustan Trolls. You have Madhu Kishwar, Activist and Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I got that wrong, it’s Jonathan Shainin of Caravan magazine. A what? Yes, that Caravan is a magazine of some sort. What a start from SG: “Charges are swirling around, we don’t know the veracity..”. That’s the first untruth from the host herself. Veracity? The charges, as she claims, against Robert Vadra, are based on public documents. Now, anyone can use help and verify authenticity of those documents and the contents of those documents. Those documents do suggest an absence of fair play in the financial dealings. Whether that is criminal or not is another story. Since RV has called the nation a “banana republic” he knows best how to harvest the bananas from the system.

On Smirk’s comments, which go back to the Rajiv Gandhi era, I have this to say: __________. His comments warrant no further assessment, there is only so much you can comment on forty licks. Debate rules should have made it clear that this is about the ‘current’ Gandhi family and not Rajiv Gandhi and earlier. Then SG refers to the ET report of March 2011 and asks why the media didn’t pick it up and take it further. You see, that’s the real problem. The bitchy competition between our media houses makes them ignore competing media reports rather than focus on the issues that come up. And then they go around asking everyone else why they didn’t act on that report. Answer by Vardabhai? “The transactions were unorthodox, unusual but not illegal”. Really? Then why didn’t The Hindu, at the very least, post a report on its assessment at that time? Wasn’t that the question? From 6.30 onward in the video SV is clearly stumbling and fumbling for an answer.

Then, when asked about travels and expenses, SV churns out even bigger untruths. He states that when it comes to Indian leaders, media is sensitive to their privacy. This is the nonsense that a host should point out to a panellist. SV states that even when it came to AB Vajpayee, after his knee operation, media were reluctant to show him coming down a plane? I’m sorry but I do have to call this a load of BS. Was Vajpayee’s knee surgery itself a secret? Was MMS’ heart procedure a secret? Was Nitin Gadkari’s weight treatment a secret? There were and still are abundant jokes on Gadkari’s weight and he takes it lightly. This is how Varadarajan lays eggs of untruths in defence of the sorry absence of reporting on the Gandhi family. Madhu Kishwar points to the absence of “investigative journalism” in the country. She’s right, but I have to say that those living on crumbs are unlikely to possess the nose of a real hound.

So in response SG asks Kishwar, who has filed RTI applications, why it’s important to know about Rahul Gandhi’s travel information. Alright! Let’s imagine LK Advani went to Pakistan on a private trip. Sure, we have no business to ask for information on personal trips. That’s the argument being peddled by most. While in Pakistan, LKA also decides to secretly meet Hafeez Saeed. Does that matter to you? Does that matter to the nation? LKA can turn around and say it’s his “private matter”. Is it really private? If the host herself is dumb enough to ask a question like this the debate loses value. The nation has a right to know where its representatives go and who they meet. A detailed report is definitely not required on every trip and meeting but a small summary would do. It is enough to say ‘SoniaG was in Venice and spent time with her family and friends’. No further information is required unless it is of national interest.

The problem with Sonia, Rahul and the Gandhi family is that nobody even knows. Even in the Robert Vadra case, even after so many debates nobody in the public knows where he is. In other circumstances it’s not necessary but since RV’s case has come up it’s important. In contrast, when Varsha Bhosle, Asha Bhosle’s daughter, shot herself every channel reported Asha Bhosle was in Singapore (October 8). See the difference? Asha Bhosle is a very prominent public figure too, probably more than some Vadra. In case memory deserts us there was this book by a Spanish writer Javier Moro about Sonia Gandhi titled “The Red Sari”. Oversexed Abhishek Singhvi reportedly made sure it wouldn’t be available in India. This WSJ article should serve as a good story for Vardabhai.

Madhu Kishwar says the media is “fawning” or “petrified” or simply just “so charmed” that they lose their wits. “Anybody who has had a cup of tea or dinner with Sonia or Rahul Gandhi, their hormonal balance is finished and damaged for life”. Those two sentences by her about the Indian media sum up what a million words cannot. The absolute truth about our crony media! Some samples were on the panel too.

On being asked why Sonia, Rahul don’t give interviews SV has a “simple” explanation: “In any party that has multiple leaders… “. If you laughed, it’s your own fault, not mine. Congress has “multiple” leaders? And then the BJP is more open because there are “several contenders” for the top spot while the Gandhis have no such incentive. That is brilliant “intellectualism” for you. And then he says “that’s the nature of the Congress party”. Well, Vardabhai that is precisely what is being debated. Why such a secretive culture? Why such cronyism? Why such sycophancy? SG should have explained the question to SV twice over before the debate. At 24.04 Vardabhai asks “when was the last time Sushma Swaraj or Arun Jaitley were in live debates”. If he was ever guilty of moronery in the past, SV has exceeded that. Who said anything about being in live debates? Both Swaraj and Jaitley have given enough interviews in the last year, at least 3 each to major news channels that I can point to. After every parliament session they address pressers and both are regular speakers in the parliament. Of course, a “live parliament” debate does not constitute “live debate” for some foolish minds. Vardabhai would have you believe real live debates happen only on TVchannels. Once again, you laugh at your own risk.

Then Jonathan Livingston Seagull, who flies too, majestically states: If citizens don’t demand transparency there will be secrecy. What exactly are RTI inquiries on travels and expenses of SoniaG and RahulG? Inquiries by foreign spies? Not by citizens? SoniaG and RahulG not talking is one thing, even the state machinery refuses to release or even answer queries of citizens. What does that say about transparency?

SG points out that in the past 14 years SoniaG has given only 3 interviews, Rahul Gandhi – Sibal! Now, let’s be honest. Neither Sonia nor Rahul have any obligation to give interviews. If they accidently do, our media morons will tom-tom it as “Exclusive, exclusive” for 26 and half days. All that is being sought is information on their travel, their medical fitness or health and who they meet abroad or anywhere. And sometimes their views on policies since they influence those. Some of that information is definitely of public interest. If Robert is only the tip of the iceberg as someone mentioned, then who knows how many such sidekicks have made a financial killing? Lastly, TV debates are fine but calling too many panellists definitely robs the debate of any depth and inquiry into the issue. As for Vardabhai, maybe he should forget the Gandhis and tell us the status of N.Ram & Co. on the land-grab case and report on it. Let him not say nobody asked for information. The TV channels might wonder where Kripa Shankar disappeared before some scandal surfaces again. That doesn’t require the Gandhis or Vadras, does it?

The SoniaG Travel & Health Bulletin

For all the noise about her travel bills not once has Sonia Gandhi ever stepped up and answered these questions herself. It’s mostly cronies in the media like Arnab and Rajdeep Sardesai and others defending her. Then she has some foot soldiers like Manish Tiwari or Rajiv Shukla who can kick and scream but hardly have an answer. Cleverly (as usual), our media morons made the story of one of BJP Vs Congress instead of a scrutiny of the real issues.

Remember Simon Denyer? Remember how many times some media crooks flashed his apology for his “MMS Tragic failure” article? We have a Johny-come-lately with the Narendra Modi statements on Sonia’s travel expenses. Javed Ansari of India Today group, tweeted Modi had expressed regret. In another tweet to his own colleague he claims the Editor who published the 1880 crores story denies it. Denies it? No Ansari dear, unless you’re a reflexive liar like Digvijay Singh, the article was indeed published. He didn’t and cannot deny something already published and now seen by the whole world. All he asked was why only his paper was being mentioned when many papers carried the same story.  

That’s a good question. Why pick on only Yashwant Shah and his “Jayhind” paper. The paper hardly has any circulation or readership. Why not pick on Saamna which is reported to have carried the same report in November? Oooh.. that would mean stepping on the Tiger’s tail. Wouldn’t it? Then who wants ShivSena in media offices breaking and smashing stuff. Loudmouth Arnab asks Rajiv Shukla if Congress will sue Modi for defamation. Shukla says they will consider it but will wait for Modi to apologise. This comic duo could star in a ‘Dumb & Dumber’ remake. Sue a guy for quoting from a newspaper? Is SoniaG some Goddess that seeking information about her is blasphemy? Is her illness relevant to the public? Is her travel, the expenses on it and other travels relevant to the public? Undeniably, YES!

Ever worked for a business or employed someone? Wasn’t there a form that required you to disclose any ailments? The reason is not to disqualify or discriminate but to know if the ailment would in any way affect the work one is recruited to do. Sonia Gandhi has been elected to do a job for people. Sonia has been employed by thousands of people to represent their interests and work for them. She is an employee of the people who pay her salary. Shouldn’t they know if she is medically fit? If any sportsman is selected to represent India, wouldn’t you be outraged if it was found he or she was medically unfit or on drugs? As for the expenses directly on her health, those need not be disclosed unless public money was used. Why should it require so many debates and for Modi to provide any evidence or to even dispute the veracity of a newspaper report? Once again the media crooks forgot what their job is. You have to admire them for ‘consistency’ though, in failing in their jobs.

Here are edited excerpts from an India Today article from July 2011:

Early in June this year.. Sonia Gandhi took off for London and her native Italy as political heat from civil society activists over black money and corruption soared in the Capital. In mid-June.. Rahul Gandhi ushered in his 41st birthday in London and topped up with a Swiss holiday. Both Sonia and Rahul's trips were widely documented in the media but the Lok Sabha secretariat has no information on them. It's common courtesy for MPs to inform the (Lok Sabha) secretariat about trips abroad, even if they are of a personal nature. But since June 2004, the month UPA came to power, the Congress president and her son have not bothered to inform the secretariat about any of their foreign trips.

Er.. Sonia and Rahul’s trips were “widely documented”? That’s an outright LIE and sheer nonsense! If you recall, J. Jayalalitha was in Delhi in June 2011 and the media even reported she might meet SoniaG. At the time our media had no clue if SoniaG was in Delhi or someplace else. India Today writes the article much later. That’s how the media fooled people then or were fooled themselves. Reports abound of SoniaG’s large entourage on her travels, even financial advisers. Who pays all the expenses? Here’s more from the same article:

When India Today filed an application under the RTI Act to the LS secretariat asking for details of personal foreign travel made by MPs since the 14th Lok Sabha, it furnished relevant information for lawmakers other than the Gandhis. The reply…was, "This secretariat attends to work relating to official visits of Indian parliamentary delegations going abroad and maintains record of foreign travel of members of the LS in their personal capacity if such travel is intimated by them to the Speaker's office." India Today filed another RTI query specifically asking how many intimations/requests the LS secretariat received regarding the foreign travels of Sonia and Rahul during the 14th and 15th Lok Sabhas. The response… on July 4 was: "Nil." Even official foreign travel details of the Gandhis are a mystery”.

Nil? Sibal? Now, were all travels of SoniaG and RahulG of a private nature and not paid by GOI? Rajiv Shukla, on TimesNow, kept talking about bills relating to Sonia’s treatment while cleverly avoiding the issue of her travels and travel expenses. Who paid those bills? That’s what concerns the public. Even if the travels were of a private nature it is important for the public to know who our MPs and MLAs meet during their foreign tours. It concerns information relating to national interest and security. Still, exactly five years ago SoniaG was at the UN giving a speech on October 2 being declared a day of “Non-violence” in memory of Mahatma Gandhi. Nice, isn’t it? What’s in a name, did that guy say? We had the greatest scholar on Gandhiji’s life and work giving that speech at the UN.

Now, on October 3, the CIC made an announcement that all medical treatment expenses were paid for by SoniaG privately. Surprisingly, why is the CIC making this announcement now as reported? According to TOI, his order on the RTI query of Sonia’s medical expenses was made in May 2012. Since that query has been already attended to the only purpose of media-screaming about that is to distort facts. Those who raised the question of 1880 crores would surely be aware of the May 2012 CIC report on the medical issue. CNN-IBN and other media channels promptly flashed and relayed the news over and over again as if the 1880 issue has been resolved. Clever, very clever! This is how media lies and distorts issues.

The 1880Cr is not about the treatment but about the travel bills of SoniaG and her entourage. Now, were the travels specifically for those treatments considered? One can incur 20 lakhs on travel and just 2 lakhs on actual hospital bills. In such a case the 20 lakhs should also be seen as being spent towards treatment because the travel would otherwise not be undertaken. Is the GOI saying the 2 lakhs were spent by SoniaG or the 22 lakhs were spent by her? This trickery needs examination. This is the question media should be asking.  The question on travels hasn’t been answered. Who paid for SoniaG’s travels and what is the correct amount of her travel expenses, her places of travel and the purposes. CNN-IBN can now officially use Digvijaya Singh’s face as their logo. Any number of lies can be peddled under that image.

Here’s a report by CNN-IBN on Sonia’s speech at the UN in 2007. “Don’t reduce Gandhi to a mere ritual” she says. Ah well, sounds funny coming from a person who lives a closed-book life, whose travels and health issues are such a big secret from the public, who refuses to even speak to the media. She is indeed living Gandhiji’s life, isn’t she? Hell, never mind. How did she get to the UN though? Was this a personal affair too? Was this a party affair? She wasn’t alone. She was accompanied by RahulG, Pranab Mukherjee and Anand Sharma. Were these guys also on a personal trip? How come then that the LS secretariat refused information to India Today about this trip?

Ever taken a flight? If you find your seat with tea, coffee or food stains, you might not think their house-keeping is bad. You would probably wonder if the aircraft’s engines are in good condition and if the aircraft is safe. What then is so different about the leader of a national party? If information on her health is required it is because the nation wants to know if the party and the govt are in good hands and in good condition. It is not about any one individual. Her employers, the people, have a right to know if she is in good medical condition and receiving good treatment and is medically fit for her job. All that the govt needs to do is put out her travel expenses and confirm the amount if it was spent from public funds. If it was spent from private money, the govt needs to issue a press release stating that too. The nonsensical statements of Manish Tiwari, Rajiv Shukla and Digvijaya Singh notwithstanding, this information cannot be hidden anymore.

Given the frequency with which SoniaG and her family travels abroad for health or other reasons the UPA should regularly issue travel and health bulletins. Someone must remind both the Congress and Sonia Gandhi that she is employed by the people, not by some private party.