Why 2002 Will Haunt Rajdeep & Barkha

In October 2012 the queen of trolls, Barkha Dutt, wrote an article titled “A Roshomon Effect”. For all those who don’t follow Japanese, that’s from a movie by Akiro Kurosawa. In short, what BD wanted to tell the world was there could be multiple sides to a ‘truth’. Not much to worry about that except that this propagandini believes only “her side” is the truth. I wrote a response to her nonsense under “Bark in the USA” Let’s do a quick recap from the first on BD’s first shot in her article:

“As a journalist you train yourself to treat both accolades and abuse with the same level of levity; you tell yourself over and over again to not take yourself seriously and you even learn, eventually, to laugh at yourself. You understand that being in the public gaze inevitably comes with being viewed through a coloured prism — whether rose-tinted or jaundiced. And you develop the ability to lightly shrug off the distortions of a persona foisted on you by others”.

That para is from BD’s article and my comment on that is given below:

“Read that opening paragraph carefully. Read again please. Did you? Alright, in the very opening you are declared a prejudiced, jaundiced abuser if you’re not one showering accolades on BD. Smart, eh? Since when is “abuse” the antonym of “accolades”? ‘Bouquet and brickbats’ is a common phrase but ‘Accolades and abuse’? And then the “persona” is foisted by others? It has nothing to do with what the individual herself has done? The opposite of accolades could be censure, rebuke, denunciation, reprimand, criticism but it’s highly unlikely that you will find “abuse” as an antonym. Talk about “perceptions”. Hey, how about: “If you’re not with me, you’re an abuser"?

That’s what brings me to write this post merely for the record. As an Amdavadi I have seen many riots, big and small. I have also stated that the Congress party has a history of fomenting communal riots in the state when any non-political agitation is unmanageable. For a sample read “Digvijay’s desperate and dangerous communal call”. I have been a witness to part of the Gujarat 2002 riots too. What was different in 2002 was the skulduggery of reporters with an agenda to overthrow the NDA govt of AB Vajpayee. Among the scumbags who most indulged in fear-mongering and indulged in hyper-ventilating were, naturally, Rajdeep Sardesai and Barkha Dutt. Two of the most journalistically-corrupt media persons of our times. In September 2011 when the SC didn’t accept the plea to prosecute Modi and returned the petition of Zakia Jafri to the lower court here is what I wrote under “SC exposes media’s clean shit”:

“On the morning of March 1, 2002 if you had walked the streets of the relatively posh western parts of Ahmedabad you wouldn’t believe what had happened while you were sleeping. You could see shops and restaurants that were burned overnight. All these shops had such names – Bhagyoday, Kabir, National and so on – all belonged to muslims, and this was a predominantly Hindu area. While there was property damage there was no report of people being killed in the area. Even residents of Ahmedabad had no idea of the scale of the riots that were going on. And then suddenly on the scene bursts Barkha Dutt and then Rajdeep Sardesai (both with Starnews then) and some more.

Hour after hour after hour we hear the most horrific stories of mass killings all over the state. In cities, towns, villages and even on highways. Words like mass murder, genocide, pogrom start to gain currency in some quarters. Were there terrible killings? You bet, some of it very horrible. But the kind of dramatic and hysterical reporting on TV was no more news reporting. It was almost fanning the flames. So much so that in some areas some TV channels had to be shut down to contain the provocation. As in the case of war, even in an unfortunate communal riot such as this, ‘truth’ is the first casualty. The numbers-killed story was generously sprinkled with imagination of people being raped, foetuses ripped and more by the media. I can safely say that the response to the Godhra train burning was spontaneous. The Gulbarg case which has become prominent because of the widow of Ehsan Jafri, killed by mobs, were attacks by mobs that would have been difficult to handle by any police force given that many other parts of Ahmedabad were equally badly affected. For all this to make one man singularly responsible could not have been anything but an agenda driven media. This agenda had to be surely backed by political forces and extraordinary influx of funds. This is where the witch hunt of Narendra Modi started”.

The drama and excessive nonsense of both Rajdeep and Barkha are clearly etched in my memory. Both these people were also involved in the excessive chest-beating during the Kandahar episode in 1999. I call their reporting nothing short of criminal. These are among the top reasons why I even started this blog. It’s almost three years since the SC ruling of 2011. Here’s the other side of the truth since Barkha likes to talk about multiple sides. This time it is from the horse’s mouth. It is Narendra Modi’s version of the behaviour of Barkha and Rajdeep and he bears out exactly what I wrote three years ago (3.15 mins):

That was Modi in an informal conversation with Madhu Kishwar, journalist and social activist. Please do note, Modi says he called either Rajdeep or Barkha to tone down their inflammatory reporting. Neither of them has denied this. I can vouch for the fact that both RS and BD were doing exactly that. If they want to prove otherwise, they should put out tapes of their criminal reporting for the world to see. They won’t! Here’s a transcript of Modi’s statement from the Manushi site:

“It was my endeavour that we restore peace at the earliest possible. If you look at the data you will see that in 72 hours we had put down the riots and brought the situation under control. But these TV channels kept on playing up the same incidents over and over again. At the time, Rajdeep and Barkha were in the same channel NDTV. During those inflamed days, Barkha acted in the most irresponsible manner. Surat had not witnessed any communal killings, barring a few small incidents of clashes. However the bazaars were closed [as a precautionary measure]. Barkha stood amidst closed shops screaming “This is Surat’s diamond market, but there is not a single police man here.”

I phoned Barkha and said, “Are you providing the address of this “unprotected” bazaar to the rioting mobs? Are you inviting them to come and create trouble there by announcing that there is no police here so you can run amok safely?” In a second incident in Anjar, she played up the news that a Hanuman mandir had been broken and vandalized. I told her, “What are you up to? You are in Kutch which is a border district. There you are showing the attack and destruction of a mandir. Do you realize the implications of broadcasting such news? We haven’t yet recovered from the earthquake. Have you actually done proper investigation into the riots? Why are you lighting fires for us? Your news takes a few minutes to broadcast that such and such place is unprotected or a mandir has been vandalized. But it takes for me a few hours to move the police from one disturbed location to another since these incidents are breaking out in the most unexpected places.”

What is worse, when I got the matter enquired into by the local police, we found out that it was a small, insignificant structure under a tree which had been damaged a little bit by some crazy individual. But NDTV presented it as an attack on a Hanuman mandir. When the fires were raging these journalists were pouring fuel on those fires.On that day I had put a ban on TV channels because they were actually provoking trouble.  But it was only for one day. Since Rajdeep Sardesai was among the leading reporters covering the disturbances, I phoned him to say, “I will have to put a temporary ban on your channel if you continue with the provocative coverage. There is a well-established regulation that media should not name communities during communal riots nor identify a damaged placed as a mandir or masjid. Why are you violating that code and well set protocol about not naming communities or identifying places, of worship? You are going against established norms.”

Barkha tweeted she was never in Surat. Doesn’t matter, it’s either one of them and talking off-hand after 12 years can have errors. But Modi did call one of them he claims. Following their criminal reporting during the Kandahar episode and then Gujarat 2002 many have been convinced that both RS and BD were “motivated”. Those days, the number of news channels were fewer. If you are wondering where Arnab Goswami was during the 2002 reporting; he was in the studios doing the pimping for the ground reporting for the other two. Since then I have called this trio the lowest BAR (Barkha, Arnab, Rajdeep) in TV journalism.Following the 2002 episode NDTV grew wealthy enough to break from Star News and launch a channel under their brand. I don’t know how they got the funds. Do you? And despite consistent losses over the years NDTV survives. That story will come out someday. Since then Prannoy, Barkha and Rajdeep have become exceptionally wealthy. RS and BD were also showered with Padma awards by SoniaG’s govt for their glorious services during Kandahar and Gujarat 2002. A day will come when the story of 2002 will not haunt Modi but many in the MSM and other filthy NGOs. The Holy Ghost also comes in the form of truth. And that truth will first piss them off.

Where The Dogs Of Society Howl

A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied “The one I feed the most”.*

There is a reason why a certain breed of dogs shouldn’t be fed beyond a point. This is the question Narendra Modi seems to have raised in a meeting of the party heads on December 24. Here’s what The Pioneer reports: “Why do senior BJP leaders turn up at news shows on issues involving not so important Congress leaders? And why is that the BJP spokespersons give a sound ‘bite’ at the drop of the hat? These and many more such issues plague the mind of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who unveiled his media strategy before members of the party’s election campaign committee that met on Tuesday”.

One of the worst attributes of BJP spokies is to turn up on every debate on TV even when they know it is nonsensical, scripted and fixed. On December 26 a court in Ahmedabad accepted the SIT report on the accusations filed by Zakia Jafri against Modi and several others in the Gujarat 2002 riots. This report was also found to be fair by the SC which did not find any merit for an intervention earlier in 2011. Following the Ahmedabad Court’s acceptance of the SIT closure report all that the BJP needed to do was a presser to state that the 2002 issue, where Modi is concerned, is closed and that justice for victims and those involved in the riots and killing should continue due course of law. Instead, like fools the BJP spokies were all over on TV once again defending against motivated crap. They don’t learn. After 11 years do these people still believe the media wants to hear the truth? If they do, then I have to say this is a sorry bunch of lipstick-hunters. The tweet I’ve quoted indicates the hatred in the media and no court is acceptable to them. Another bimbo has called the SC judges “crackpots”. Why bother arguing with them?

The best course after a victory is to let the dogs of hatred and calumny fight it among themselves and push back. You don’t need to feed the evil dog when you’ve already won. After the December 26 acceptance of the SIT report by the court the headlines and comments were many. Modi not found guilty said some! The media bimbos who claimed this remain ignorant that this wasn’t even a trial of Modi but a petition by Zakia to start a case. The comic Times Now reporter from Ahmedabad even called Zakia’s lawyers “defence lawyers” when she wasn’t an “accused” in anything. He further commented on whether Zakia will “appeal” the court’s verdict. This is as legally-bimbo as our MSM folks get where law is concerned. Fortunately, the biggest legal-bimbo of all was on vacation or it could have gotten worse. Narendra Modi was neither under trial nor was there ever a case or FIR against him in the Gujarat 2002 issue. That’s where the other headlines get interesting. Here’s one from TOI on December 27:

Smart, isn’t it? Keep throwing mud and dirt at someone for 11 years yourself and then claim his shirt was soiled. Since Independence the witch-hunt of Modi has been the single biggest ever. I would also rate it as the biggest media crime ever. Almost everyone used similar headlines. TV’s ‘Hate-monger in chief’ Rajdeep Sardesai was no different. I had to explain to this extreme hate-monger that the mud he hurled doesn’t amount to taint:

And you know what? This Rajdeep gets angry and upset even when someone points out to him that he called Dawood a "patriot" which is actually a fact. The truth is the court found no case for charging Modi and found the petition by Zakia unacceptable. One cannot help but sympathise with the lady. She has been led up a political ‘yellow brick road’ to a fake sense of justice by those who acted on behalf of political powers. Those who fooled her are today richer by crores while she still seeks justice. Those who fooled her also subverted true justice in the process by diverting the entire process and focus to hang one man. NDTV, one of the chief media-accusers of Modi, holds out highlights from the Ahmedabad court verdict:

On the evening of December 26, after the verdict, Commie mouthpiece Brinda Karat was out again with sound-bites still holding Modi responsible for the ‘genocide’. Earlier, her party comrade Sitaram Yechury (one of the famous #65Jaichands) had coined a new convenient term ‘communal pogrom’. I believe, if anyone now calls the 2002 riots a pogrom or genocide it should be treated as contempt of court and, more importantly, contempt for truth. All the politicians and media crooks who have used these terms are nothing but illiterate, uneducated morons and liars. While, politicians opposed to Modi are predictable and shameless I consider the media crooks to be more shameless. Someone created a wall of shame for those who ran the malicious campaign against Modi for 11 years. A few were forgotten (and maybe some more are left out) and I added those faces to this “Black Wall of Shame”:

It’s not Modi but many of these faces that now stand tainted with their lies and fake reports. Some of these faces may even have serious allegations against them. They say politics is the last resort of a scoundrel. I believe that needs a change in our times. We fairly know what to generally expect of politicians but it’s the MSM that has become the last resort for scoundrels. News media should have stood for facts, truth and logic but has become just another last resort. A resort where the dogs of society howl. Since the mid-2000s the SM emerged as strong alternative to these rogues. If not, you can imagine what destructive campaigns these faces would have carried forward unchallenged. A tribute to this “Wall of Shame” would be appropriate:

So goodbye yellow brick road/ Where the dogs of society howl/ You can't plant me in your penthouse… What do you think you'll do then/ I bet that'll shoot down your plane/ It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics/ To set you on your feet again/ Maybe you'll get a replacement/ There's plenty like me to be found/ Mongrels who ain't got a penny/ Sniffing for titbits like you on the ground. **

On their part, the BJP spokies foolishly think the dogs of society were only after Modi. They weren’t! Since 1999 a systematic campaign has been carried out against the right wing party for the Congress plus Commies and everyone knows it. It started with NDA being re-elected (after Jayalalitha knocked them out with 1 vote), then Kargil bashing, “coffingate” and then Kandahar. The party must decide whether to feed the good dog or the evil dog. So far the evil one hasn’t managed to win where Modi is concerned. But there is a lesson to be learned because they are not going to stop their hunt as we shall see in a future post.

In this entire 11-year episode there is clearly only one winner; Narendra Modi. He won 4 elections, is seen as a top performer and his popularity has grown beyond expectations. His detractors now simply don’t know how to combat the man. Now they suddenly think Arvind Kejriwal is their saviour. Goodluck! They just don’t have an answer. In all this time Modi was the one who carried himself with dignity despite the vulgar campaign against him.

The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor; he took my measurement anew every time he saw me, while all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected them to fit me. ***

That goes for many political parties and the entire MSM where the dogs of society howl, and all those detractors in India and abroad. They will continue with the same old measurements. Modi has moved on to new measurements of performance. He never fed the evil dogs. We are now into the final phase.

* & *** Quotes from George Bernard Shaw.

** From “Goodbye yellow brick road” – Elton John/Bernie Taupin.

What Goes On Within Four Walls Of NDTV?

Comedian Stephen Colbert, the host of Comedy Central's ‘The Colbert Report’, coined the term "Truthiness" as the notion that truth doesn't lie in books and facts but rather, in your gut. Before his own show Colbert frequently appeared with Jon Stewart on ‘The Daily Show’. Both lampoon the American media and politicians and expose their lies on a daily basis. Neither Stewart nor Colbert interpret news reports. They just quote reports and statements and nail the lies behind them or their funny side. What should be even more amusing is that most US citizens trust satirist Stewart for real news. On another front Bill Adair, the chief editor of Politifact states: “Whether the fact has actually died or is just on its death bed, I think it means it's a great time to be in the fact-checking business”. Yes, that’s right, given the lies that our news channels and papers spread, for many in the social media it’s a great time to be in the ‘fact-checking’ business. And may I add, they are doing a great job of it. Most can sense the absence of ‘Truthiness’ when they watch TV reports, especially where it concerns NDTV and Gujarat riots and Narendra Modi.

There has to be some motivation for NDTV, also other late-joiners like TOI and Indian Express, for the extra-ordinary mud-slinging they have indulged in against Narendra Modi and Gujarat. So much that the SIT closure report which absolves Modi of any wrong doing on the riots is unpalatable for them. And now their entire faith in the prospect of screwing Modi hangs on a tiny fable. It’s a story concocted by Sanjiv Bhatt that he was present in a meeting held by Modi and that the CM had made statements encouraging “Hindus to vent their anger” against Muslims for the Godhra train  horror. The SIT has established, through witnesses, that Sanjiv Bhatt was not present in the meeting of February 27, 2002. Not just witnesses, other evidences – factual and circumstantial including mobile records, clearly establish the lies of Sanjiv Bhatt.

There’s some history to this. It is not just as a channel that NDTV has been campaigning against Modi. It is some of its members who have been in that business long before NDTV came into existence as a separate news channel. Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai were the pioneers in this endeavour even while they were with StarNews. But now it’s the newcomers on the channel who have been delegated that assignment. Which should explain a statement by NidhiRazdan, which she reportedly made, on her show Left,Right,Centre on May 10: "Some would say Hafiz planned 26/11 in the four walls, hence it is not an offence".(Thanks to @ssudhirkumar for reporting this ). Even on a live show that looks like a well prepared and well rehearsed statement. This followed an article on NDTV website “Gujarat riots: Illegal orders within a room no offence, says SIT report on Modi”.

Truthiness in an observer’s gut will explain that the headline itself is mischievous and intended to camouflage the actual explanation of the SIT. The SIT only hypothetically stated that even if the ‘alleged’ statements were made by Modi then such a statement within four walls does not constitute an offence. More importantly, circumstantial evidence and subsequent actions by Modi do not in any manner suggest or imply that he made that statement or carried it out. So the wisegal Nidhi tries to equate the “alleged” statement with possible statements by Hafiz Saeed, the wanted Pakistani terrorist, within four walls with Modi. Make no mistake – the unstated implication is that Modi is as much a terrorist as Hafiz Saeed. I am surprised Nidhi stopped at Hafeez Saeed and did not go on to make a comparison with the ‘Viagral’ adventures of Osamji within four walls.

By Nidhi’s logic Hafiz Saeed would not be guilty of terrorist activities if he plotted them within four walls. “Take that, all you goats who died in 26/11”. It doesn’t matter to NDTV or Nidhi Razdan that Saeed, by subsequent conduct and actions, had carried out whatever he may be accused of plotting within four walls. This is how our news channels compromise our actions against terror. Oh wait, NDTV is the only channel that also broadcasts in Pakistan, to my knowledge. Is that a motivation? I have stated in no uncertain terms earlier that the manner of reporting and lies spread on the Gujarat riots by our news channels may have even inspired many terrorists and terror attacks. Balance and sensitivity has long been lost on NDTV. No wonder Chetanya Kunte after the 26/11 carnage accused them of ‘Shoddy Journalism’.

This is not the first time that NDTV has perpetrated reports lacking in Truthiness. In February 2012, just around the 10^th year of the Godhra horror they pulled out another fairy tale. Not surprising, considering their group editor is frequently obsessed with Alice In Wonderland. They put out this report: ‘2002 Gujarat riots: Former judge says there's audio tape with evidence against Modi’. Both reports are by NDTV reporter Rohit Bhan, but these days anyone can draft any report or even affidavit as a TOI journalist will tell you. The atrocity of this report can be measured by the following content in it:

Justice Suresh says that during his trip to Gujarat, he met Haren Pandya, who was then a minister in Mr Modi's government. Mr  Pandya allegedly said that the chief minister had called a meeting in February, hours after a train was set on fire at the Godhra station. Justice Suresh says that Mr Pandya' conversation with him and retired Supreme Court judge PB Sawant was recorded on an audio tape. But Mr Pandya pleaded with both judges to not attribute this information to him. "He said he will come and meet us provided its kept confidential and his name should not be disclosed ...we agreed on that...only some of us Justice Sawant, myself and one or two others were there ..and then we heard him, recorded his statement but we kept it very confidential," Justice Suresh told NDTV.

Now, this judge was specially interviewed by NDTV in February 2012. Interesting how after Haren Pandya’s death the judge claims an audio tape that for “confidential” reasons cannot be disclosed or aired. Even if Haren Pandya did make a statement to these judges, they claim to have already discussed it with the SIT. So what NDTV was trying to imply by this report and the interview is for you to figure out. But hey, it helps to add any fuel to the fire started by NDTV.

If Politifact were to assess NDTV’s reportage over the years I am quite certain that they would have scored “Pants on Fire” on a number of occasions. Facts established by special investigating bodies do not seem to count with NDTV. So what exactly is NDTV’s motive behind such a long witch-hunt? So much that there is a sharp and militant unwillingness to accept even the SIT’s report. Looks like they will not be happy unless and until some kangaroo court of their own choice pronounces Modi guilty and sentences him to death. Of course, they aren’t alone but they are the most voluble in this campaign. Far from justice for any riot victim or justice for the sake of supremacy of law, the motives surely have to be something else and somewhere else.

The most apparent motive is obviously the decimation of BJP as a political party through their anti-Modi campaign. This becomes even more obvious with elections in Gujarat around the corner and general elections in 2014. The increasing noises about Modi as PM candidate is probably also sending chills down their spine. The most disturbing aspect for me is that there might be very powerful forces behind NDTV’s campaign. The blatant violations and disregard for routine norms of ethics in journalism suggest a “larger” (A term Nidhi Razdan would love) conspiracy that only time will tell. The involvement of many Indian journalists and their being beneficiaries of Ghulam Nabi Fai must be borne in mind. One never knows how many such Fais are lurking around the shadows and feeding our journalists and media outlets.

There’s only one question that hasn’t been answered for a long time. How does NDTV, a channel which has constantly lost share value, consistently made losses still manage to stay afloat? Well, Deep Throat did say “Follow the money” and I hope someone will. Only that will finally reveal whose war is being fought by NDTV and what goes on within their four walls. Going by Indian media ethics it won’t be another journalist or media outlet that will bring the truth home. It will be probably be some comedian who has a gut feel for Truthiness.

SIT: Nero Never Fiddled

The Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Rajghat, Delhi has the epitaph “Hē Ram”, the words he spoke just before he died after being shot. Thousands pay their respects to Gandhi here every day. Every one of them reads the epitaph and the Mahatma’s last words have been taught to us in schools and history books. But did he really say those? No one has compelling evidence that Gandhi did say ‘Hē Ram’ and none has ever been presented. He could well have said anything else or maybe even nothing at all. This is how myths work. It starts with somebody’s imagination or hallucination, somebody influential. Then it creeps into history books and the media dishes out propaganda. Before long the myth becomes the established and accepted truth.But not forever.

Closer to present day, for years some in the Indian media have reported that the Supreme Court had rapped the Gujarat govt over the 2002 riots with: “Neros were looking elsewhere when Gujarat was burning". Did the SC actually say that? Let’s assume they did. But Arjun Modhwadia, Congress leader in Gujarat has promised to prove the SC statement is true in the Gujarat Assembly. He is struggling to establish this though. He is searching for evidence and so am I. Whether Modhwadia presents the evidence in the Gujarat assembly or not, over the last decade many celebrity media anchors have used the supposed statement of the SC to equate Narendra Modi with Nero. Story is that the Roman emperor was famously fiddling while Rome was burning so he could make a palatial complex out of the ruins. So much was invested in painting Modi as a murderer and looking the other way during Gujarat 2002 that the SIT Closure report must have come as a shock to a huge industry of liars. The SIT investigation is neatly summarised by Offstumped and to cut a long story short I am just quoting his summary here:

... the thrust of CM’s speech everywhere was that the incident was heinous, organised and that the culprits would be brought to strictest punishment.. . . .it is not the case that the Chief Minister made any assertion concerning- the obligation of any religious community to do such acts, as are likely to cause disharmony. He did not make any appeal to Hindus or Muslims to take up arms against each other.’it is reasonably concluded that no utterances on part of Shri Narendra Modi could ‘be attributed suggestive to any intended promotion of hatred ill-will etc.. amongst religious groups…

… the Learned Amicus Curiae has agreed with the various recommendations made by the SIT on the different issues inquired into /investigated by the SIT. However, the Ld. Amicus Curiae is of the view that, at this prima facie stage offences u/s 153A(I )(a)& (b), 1536 (I 166 and 505 (2) IPC are made out against Shri Narendra regarding the statement made by him in the meeting. In this connection, as discussed, above SIT is of the view that the offences under the aforesaid, sections of law are not made out against Shri Narendra Modi. In the light of the aforesaid facts, a closure report is being submitted for favour of perusal and orders…

Since the SIT closure report did not suit their taste the media typically hung on grimly to the utterances of the Amicus Curae (AC) and kept suggesting Modi could be prosecuted based on the AC’s report. The AC has offered his opinion which does not constitute evidence. His opinion has also been considered and reported upon by the SIT. Let us do a roll-call of the vicious actors in the decade long campaign against Modi – Teesta Setalvad, Shabnam Hashmi, Arundhati Roy, Harsh Mandar, Sanjiv Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt, Mallika Sarabhai … where do I stop? It’s too long. And then there’s another list from the media. Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghose, Arnab Goswami, Vinod Sharma, Vir Sanghvi…. Again too long a list. All of these characters should hang their heads in shame and should actually apologise for the untruths they spread about Modi and Gujarat. In their Hate-Modi campaign they have even scoffed at the development of Gujarat and the progress the state has made under him. Such a campaign cannot be anything but ‘motivated’ and requires huge funding to sustain.

SIT makes the biggest bonfire of media lies 

The lies, the half-truths have all come to haunt the biggest personalities in the media. It is even unfortunate that some of them, also involved in other scandals, continue in their jobs. Many members of the Congress party have also wilfully indulged in encouraging the lies about Gujarat. After the SIT report, the next investigation has to be into the funding of NGOs like those of Teesta, Shabnam and the activities of Sanjiv Bhatt and many others. And what do we do with all the fake reports by the media over the decade? I have a modest suggestion! Put them all together and burn them in the biggest bonfire in your neighbourhood. The other lesson people should have learned by now: Never trust one word of what the news media says except for the bare news they report. They have lost all credibility and if they wish to regain it, the 5-star criminals must resign. The SIT has burned their lies and deceit. And let the bonfire of their reports and vanities be as hot as the fires of Rome.

Of the gang of crooks in the news media there are a few who still have people’s respect. One of them, Ravish Kumar of NDTV (Hindi) recently tweeted and I translate his statement: “Government’s lie and the media turns those lies into truth”. That’s the modern media’s daily job. In all of this the activists and media crooks have even forgotten that if ever a case were to be indeed brought against Narendra Modi he has every right to legal defence. Whether Modi will ever need it is a matter of conjecture but no man in Indian history has been so held guilty by suspicion, accusation and propaganda as he has been. Even known and convicted terrorists in our prisons have got better deals. Narendra Modi was and remains an innocent man in the eyes of the law as of now. From CMs to PMs there have been instances of negligence during agitations and communal riots. That may be true for Modi as well but the myth of him being an instigator, conspirator or supporter of the 2002 riot ends here. This particular myth, like the ‘Hē Ram’ of Gandhi, will not go on to become gospel truth.

And yes, what about the liars in the media and NGOs? There has to be a law by which such campaigners should be prosecuted and brought to justice. What about the supposed statement of SC comparing Nero fiddling while Rome burned to Gujarat or Narendra Modi? Although I doubt SC actually made that statement even learned judges can sometimes use myths as an expression. There were many fires in Rome during the period of Nero’s rule. The famous fire in which he fiddled was during the year 64 in the first century. Awful truth is: Violins weren’t invented till over 1000 years after Nero’s death. Oh well! Since that was a myth the historians suggested he must have played a stringed instrument called the ‘Lyre’ but even that turned out a hoax. Rome didn’t have an SIT then. If there had been one, the SIT would have established the Truth: Nero Never Fiddled!