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.
