The Quixotic EC

Any election without its humour and laughable moments is no fun. Lately, apart from the politicians it’s the Election Commission (EC) and its multiple Commissioners and field level Commissioners that have been providing some comic moments. They have this thing called Model Code of Conduct (MCC) which the politicians and other public figures campaigning are supposed to follow. I believe Mohinder Amarnath would have called these guys “a bunch of jokers” without a second thought; such is their implementation of policies and codes. The first and foremost task of the EC is to ensure all voters who wish to vote are able to vote without hindrance. They have failed miserably in this task and someone needs to explain and probably even be prosecuted for this serious lapse. It’s not even a question of a few hundreds or thousands, this runs into millions according to news reports:

There is no denying that the task of conducting elections in India is a huge one. It’s the biggest elections on the planet that can face a lot of hurdles. That is understandable and we shall deal with it later. But why should there be a problem with something as clerical as voter rolls? Six Million in just one state and there maybe others in other states too. That’s not a small number, that’s almost like disenfranchising the whole of Israel or Sweden or Switzerland. The EC apologised for this but this is a crime that needs much more than a mere apology. This is the reason people have stopped trusting even the EC. An earlier CEC, Naveen Chawla, was reportedly talking to Congress party members from the toilet of his office. And after all this the EC gets into idiotic issues of MCC.

First they ban Amit Shah for his “revenge” speech. Then they ban Azam Khan for his “Muslims saved Kargil” speech. Both are idiotic cases and didn’t deserve any action. But like the media, the EC too now indulges in “monkey balancing”. Amit Shah’s ban has been reversed but not Azam Khan’s. I’m no fan of Khan but if he wants to say Muslims saved Kargil, what is wrong in it? At best it’s a lie or not the full truth. That should be combated by other politicians not by the EC. Which political speech during an election does not have some sprinkling of lies and distortions? This whole nonsense of “hate speech” is driven a lot by religious issues. There is nothing hateful in what Khan or Shah said. Why are we so scared that Hindus and Muslims are dumb who will fall prey to such speeches? Are the ECs supposed to act as their Mother-in-law?

There is another moron (who invented the DNA testing system) called Abu Azmi who wants the DNA of those Muslims, who didn’t vote for his party, to scientifically establish if they are Muslims or RSS members. For the record, even RSS has a Muslim-wing. So far, terrorists wanted to hear some verses from Quran or the name of Mohammad’s mother to establish one was a Muslim. Now we have a new method? In case some have forgotten, this same EC covered all the elephants of Mayawati on frivolous claims of other parties that it would influence voters. The EC spent crores on it. Does the EC really believe voters are that dumb? There was even a complaint by Congress in MP to hide lotus ponds. This has been getting sillier with time. Then there’s the question of campaigning or flashing symbols on voting day. Which age does the EC live in?

The EC recently filed FIRs against Narendra Modi for flashing the Lotus badge while talking to media after voting in Gandhinagar on April 30. The Congress and others complained about it and the EC held a special 3 hour emergency meeting after which they decided to file the FIRs against Modi. This is as stupid as it gets. There’s a 24X7 media beaming sound-bites from various candidates on voting day. There was Nandan Nilekani commenting on BJP and why Congress should win after he voted in Bangalore. In the pic below, others using symbols after voting are doing so deliberately and not accidentally:

There was Meera Sanyal in Mumbai condemning Milind Deora after she voted in Mumbai. There are many such cases and the complaints can be endless. If that is not enough, on voting days at some places there is campaigning on at other towns. The media airs those campaigns. Does it not influence voters? Is the EC under the impression what Modi may say in Bangalore may not have any impact on a voter in Bihar which may have a voting-day? Or are the channels not airing the campaigns in voting areas? What is the point of the whole farce of FIRs and silly actions wasting time from an important exercise in the country? Because the media morons and Congress screamed the EC filed an FIR against Giriraj Singh (Who said Modi-haters must go to Pakistan). The arrest warrant against him has been quashed by the Jharkhand HC. What is so painful about what Giriraj said? (There are already people who have said they will leave the country if Modi becomes PM). It may offend some people but is mere offence cause enough for the EC’s quixotic behaviour? In an interesting story, the state of Ohio in the US has banned negative campaigning and lies against candidates. Although this has been challenged in their SC under First Amendment rights, there is a similar need for dramatic change in our MCC. Operating the same MCC where prosecutable crimes aren't separated from petty issues drains the EC of valuable time, resources and focus.

If at all the EC and political parties really want to stop this silly incidents all they have to do is have clear guidelines for the media. In this day and age it is absurd not to recognise that channels like NDTV, Timesnow, CNN-IBN, Aajtak and other groups are active campaigners in elections. Each media channel supports and campaigns for a party. The excessive promotion of Mrs Vadra by Arnab Goswami and TimesNow has reached levels of absolute moronery. Even the most stupid and childish things she says and does are peddled as great political insight or skill. Silly Arnab even had problems with someone calling her “Mrs Vadra” because the Vadra name is now associated with land scams which are in the news again. Given all these stupidities does the EC have time for crimes such as illegal voter cards?

The EC has been quixotic in almost all elections. First off, holding a national election over 35-40 day period itself is a very absurd practice. The gaps between voting days provide enough opportunities for political parties to get exit polls from sources and even corrupt media channels to tailor their campaigns in between voting days. It also provides opportunities for other corrupt practices to be extended. The whole exercise has to be modernised and completed within a week. It may be a tall task and require a lot of resources. It’s better to make those resources available and enable elections to finish inside a week. Considering elections form one of the most important parts of a democracy, the new govt must make it a top priority for electoral reforms. That would at least be a start to stop the EC’s Quixotic ways.

Rajdeep On Deception Lane

There are principles of propaganda that Joseph Goebbels had laid out. Not sure if they were in an organised form but there is a writer, Leonard Doob, who has organised and listed Goebbels’ principles of propaganda very neatly. One can Google it and find those anywhere. There are at least two that Rajdeep Sardesai (RS) and his Hammam practice regularly and religiously:

Material from enemy propaganda may be utilized in operations when it helps diminish that enemy's prestige or lends support to the propagandist's own objective.

Who’s the enemy? Well, once again in the case of the spurious loan of 90 Crores by AICC to Associated Journals Ltd. (National Herald) it is clearly Subramanian Swamy. Here, he is the enemy of the Congress and the Gandhis. So Swamy’s own charges must be used to target and tarnish him to support the propagandist’s objective. Who’s the propagandist? That’s not hard to tell is it?

Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.

Bluff-master, muckraker, anarchist, fascist; you have all these titles and many more for Swamy from the Congress and the job of the propagandist is to further the agenda. Simple; eh? This is exactly what RS did on November 1 on his nightly show on CNN-IBN. He made a brilliant attempt at using charges made against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi (RG) by Swamy to tarnish Swamy rather than making an attempt to understand or explain the case for the viewers. Read the first principle of the propagandist I quoted above again. The very opening tagline of the show “Where is the fraud” gives the game away. The video of the discussion is available on Youtube (10.37)

Let’s hear Rajdeep’s mindless rant:

2.09: These are mere allegations; no quid pro quo has been shown.

Wilful ignorance doesn’t have a remedy. Young Indian is a company in which 76% shares are held by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Who benefits by transfer of National Herald to Young India?

4.05: RS claims having spoken to “sources” close to the Gandhi family who stated they are restructuring the entire National Herald company.

Really? Restructuring to what? First the Congress and the media touted the nonsense that Young India hopes to revive the National Herald newspaper. Then there was a clear statement by RG that there was no plan to revive the newspaper. Either RS must be blind or, once again, wilfully ignorant. The nonsense of RS goes on in that vein right through the show. But here’s the first clincher:

6.10 RS says the acquisition took place in April 2012 and it’s now November and that Swamy should have taken the case to the courts instead of making allegations.

That, for you, is stupidity personified. Consider this: It took the PM over two years to sack A. Raja and took him over 3 years to even reply to Swamy’s letter on 2G. ET article on Robert Vadra was in March 2011 but the news channels didn’t pick it up till there was an outrage in October 2012. And Rajdeep would have everyone believe that six months are too long for Swamy to wait to go to the courts. Where in the world will you find such a media propagandist?

Firstly, it’s Swamy’s business whether he wants to go to court or not. Secondly, RS completely ignores the fact that SS has written to both the Election Commission and the PM for action on this fraudulent donation of 90Crores by a political party to a regular company. SS is on record stating that if he doesn’t get a reply or action he will indeed go to court. I guess only misadventure enthusiasts like RS pick up documents and rush to court without exploring normal procedures of seeking action or inquiry. Whatever else RS can justify for his propaganda, not once does he bring up the question of a political party, which gets income tax exemptions, loaning 90 crores to a company. In all of this that issue is the crux of the whole argument of Swamy. So, SS is the guilty party for making the allegations, with documents that seriously need attention, and not going to courts. He is kicking up dust in the wind. See the propaganda principle number two that I stated at the beginning. Tarnish the enemy to protect your party.

Now, even the Congress first dismissed all of Swamy’s charges as baseless, motivated and utter rubbish. But by late evening on November 1, a somewhat agitated Janardhan Dwivedi, their spokesman, helplessly admitted that the AICC had indeed made a 90crore interest-free loan to National Herald. It doesn’t matter whether it was interest-free or if it was unsecured. Question remains; do political parties make such donations which they receive from the people? Are they lawfully allowed to? Out of 90 crores it is safe to say 27crores can be assessed as IT exemptions that the party has already received and that is public money that the party has used for the illegitimate loan to a company. None of these serious questions figured on Rajdeep’s show. Well, obviously the purpose of the show was to protect and serve. Then RS comes up with further nonsense of RahulG threatening defamation case against Swamy. If RS truly believed RahulG then he is clearly more gullible than I thought he was; hardly fit to be the “newsman” that he calls himself. Even ordinary folks didn’t believe RahulG’s silly threats.

What RS should have stated at the beginning of the segment he states at the end. He had asked Congress men to appear on the show and they refused. That says everything. Rajdeep doesn’t like his integrity being questioned. Nobody does! But I have to remind him again that he’s in a profession that has been acknowledged as dishonest long before he was even born; long before TV was invented. John Swinton, Chief of Staff of New York Times, was called the ‘Dean of his profession’ by the industry. This is a speech he made to the New York Press Club in the US in 1880:

"There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, as an independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinions out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone. The business of the journalist is to destroy the truth; to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; to fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to sell the country for his daily bread. You know it and I know it and what folly is this toasting an independent press. We are the tools and vassals of the rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes”.

At the feet of Mammon! Even if Mammon represents greed, I could easily replace Mammon with another word. Rajdeep once used to have a segment called “Crossfire” on his shows. It used to be a full-fledged show on IBN’s US partner CNN. Once called on Crossfire, Jon Stewart, the satirist, blasted the hosts for their divisive program and said: "Now, don’t you think that, for people watching at home, that’s kind of a drag; that you’re literally walking to a place called deception lane”? Following the beating that the CNN hosts took on that episode ‘Crossfire’ was permanently pulled off the air. It was dumped. Rajdeep may not face the same fate for his spin but there is no doubt he knows quite well which direction he’s headed when he walks that Deception Lane. 

Ban On Opinion Polls Or More Press Freedom?

These are some statements that came out of the Second Regional Consultation on Electoral Reforms, organised by the Union Law and Justice Ministry in Kolkata on January 9.

From The Hindu: Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi on Sunday favoured banning of opinion polls with the enforcement of the model code of conduct and said the constitutional body should also be empowered with the right to deregister fake political parties. Calling for stringent action to curb the growth of money power and ‘paid news’, Mr. Quraishi said the EC had, time and again, suggested that persons having criminal records be debarred from contesting any election. The CEC said it was also opposed to state funding of elections. “If it is done, political parties will get more money and there is possibility of misuse of money.” He suggested that period of punishment for disqualification of candidates be extended from three years to five years.

The idea of controlling bad practices with ‘bans’ is an idea that will seldom succeed. There is no doubt that our media peddles a lot of biased opinion polls but that is a small price to pay for freedom of speech. The culture of banning polls, books and other expressions or speech runs contrary to the very idea of democracy. The only way fake opinion polls will fade or stop is when people get wiser and show greater maturity. This is already happening to some extent and will continue to happen. One cannot keep fooling people all the time. Fact is, people have made opinion polls look outright silly on many occasions. So whether the opinion poll is run before or after the model code of conduct comes into force doesn’t really matter.

And how does one act against ‘paid news’? Obviously, this is not something that is paid for with a cheque and supported by a bill by the publisher. It is clearly a ‘black-money’ operation. Therefore, the same action required to target black money may perhaps be the answer.

Much as mediacrooks abound, the temptation to fiddle with freedom of speech and expression must be curbed. The two main councils that guide the news and advertising media are Press Council of India and the Advertising Standards Council of India. Neither of them have any punitive provisions for infringements and do not have any power other than recording or pointing out unfair or unethical practices.

The EC also suggests that punishment for disqualification of candidates be extended from 3 to 5 years. My knowledge is limited but I cannot recollect a single disqualified candidate being punished by any sentence. So it’s not at all clear what purpose such a change would serve.

It’s all very nice to talk about freedom of speech, free press, democracy and so on in this country. But is this really true? Let’s take a look at the Press Freedom Index 2010 put out by Reporters Without Borders. Out of over 200 countries surveyed India stands at 122! That should be some indication of the free speech enjoyed in the world’s largest democracy.

Some of the countries ranked ahead of India are Ghana, Mali, Costa Rica, Taiwan, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Central African Republic, Kenya, Kuwait, Tonga, Sierra Leone, Nepal and some. The UK ranks 19, USA 20 and France 44. Some of the countries we lead in the rankings are Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Eritrea and some. That tells a tale of its own!

The only way we can have a responsible media is to allow them complete freedom with proper regulations in place. Currently there is neither proper regulation nor complete freedom. And this is not just for the press and the media. This is for every citizen in this country. Let's have the courage to tolerate the Arundhatis and the Binayaks, no matter how much the provocation. You can muzzle speech, you cannot muzzle 'thought'!