Gujarat - RahulG Delivers Final Blow To Modi

He came, He Saw, He Spoke …. And we all laughed. There’s never a dull moment with Rahul Gandhi. He does seem to be the ‘apparent’ in the Congress ‘hair’. I have never been interested in political rallies or speeches. In all my life I have attended only one rally sometime early in the 1990s. It had nothing to with any interest in politics but a group of friends and I wanted to hear someone who was known as a great orator. That was A.B. Vajpayee and it was in a small municipal ground with just around 500 people. His chaste Hindi, his humour, his assertive style didn’t disappoint at all. Narendra Modi is even better as an orator but I have not been tempted to attend any of his rallies or keenly look forward to his speeches. But over the last 2 years the only person I keenly look forward to hear is Rahul Gandhi. He has my complete attention every time he speaks and I get a chance to listen to him. To call it an experience is an understatement. So it was that when he turned up in Gujarat on the last day of campaign (before the first round of polls) on December 11 I had to listen. It’s not just what he says but I also listen to see how the media cronies of Congress reproduce those speeches which add to the fun. Especially when it comes to NDTV and CNN-IBN the report is even better than the speeches. 
  

Firstly, unable to resist the temptation to add her two cents on the Gujarat election Barkha Dutt rushed to Ahmedabad with nothing to do really. By now most public areas are places where she is likely to be booed ‘By The People’. So she turns up at the most comforting zone in Ahmedabad – with Jagruti Pandya and Shweta Bhatt who are contesting the elections; the latter against Narendra Modi in the Maninagar constituency of Ahmedabad. The title of her report might make you want to think, what the Dickens! Well, given she’s a regular Literfest participant “A tale of two wives” quite suits her. The headline is typically from the NDTV/Barkha Dutt spin alley: ‘Modi forced to share limelight with these two wives’. And what does Shweta Bhatt have to offer? A treasure trove of lies like – there’s no water in Maninagar, no development, no this no that. Those who don’t know, she doesn’t live in that area. She lives in an area that has never faced a water problem in many years or any problem that might affect an Amdavadi. The only place where she gets some ‘limelight’ is in Barkha’s head and probably on NDTV. Nowhere else!
  

Here’s a tweet from Barkha’s good friend Swapan Dasgupta. The atmosphere he describes at a Modi rally is quite believable. The man has the ability to create an electric atmosphere with his speeches. Modi can use twists and spins like any other politician but he is not known to use outright lies. What probably does bother Barkha is not what limelight those ladies might be having but that she has fallen from such heights that in an important election in an important state she is millions of miles away from the limelight. Even Rajdeep Sardesai managed to attend a few Modi rallies, get a seat on his bus and an interview. Barkha is just reduced to reporting from the shadows. It’s a warning for every aspiring or practicing journalist. If you claim to be in journalism do not hold excessive hate and contempt for a person no matter what. This is especially when that hate is based on a huge volume of lies. While Modi’s stock has gone up in the last decade, Barkha has been reduced to reporting also-rans like a side-show. Reduced to interviews in hotels or reporting from shops or from complexes like the Gujarat Vidyapith (December 11). 

So what did RahulG say? Well, he improved on his comic stuff from UP. This time he told people how Gandhiji and Motilal Nehru discussed things. You know like that Amitabh Bachchan dialogue in “Namak Halal” where he describes how Vijay Merchant and Vijay Hazare had a discussion before finally taking a run. Oh yes… He also reminded us Rajivji “brought computers, mobile phones”. He forgot to add that Gandhiji brought salt from his Dandi march. Doesn’t matter that mobile phones came in only around 1995! Fact-check, homework? And then he touched upon his favourite topic – Potatoes! Potatoes are sold at 3/- a kilo and chips are sold at 10/- a pack. Oops.. in UP it was 1/- a kilo and chips were 20/- a pack (Read: RahulGThe King of comedy). These price fluctuations don’t seem to add up. But then nothing adds up with RG. Like his mom, he mentioned everyone in his Nehru-Gandhi family from Motilal to Soniaji (Oh.. he forgot Priyanka and Robert Vadra though).  

On December 10 Sonia Gandhi stated Nehruji established ONGC in the town of Mehsana at a meeting in Siddhpur (near Mehsana). Don’t expect our media to check but now the SM does check each and every word uttered. ONGC Mehsana wasn’t established till November 1967 long after Nehru’s death. That’s only half the story. As an observer on Twitter pointed out, they didn’t open ONGC in Mehsana for fun or gave it preference over Muktasar in Punjab. The simple fact is Mehsana has oil and nobody does anybody a favour by exploring and drilling for oil. That Congress can make such stupid statements is now a standard expectation. Overall the tone of both SoniaG and RahulG is one of a family that has been generous to the people of this country and they should be grateful for the crumbs the family doles out. Well, unfortunately people in Gujarat have tasted a great amount of success and aren’t carried away with these emotional stories about Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru or any Gandhi family computer or mobile. 
  

However, like I said earlier, it’s not just what RG says but how the media responds to his speeches. Congress mouthpieces like NDTV in particular and CNN-IBN which can fall over each other to please their favoured party. Immediately after RG spoke at Jamnagar on December 11 NDTV carried a report summarising his speech. See their first headline at 12.27 in the image. I immediately tweeted (12.43) that it was an absolute lie and that RG never mentioned Modi even once in his whole speech. So what happens? Caught on the wrong foot NDTV changes its headline by 13.35 and the second one in the image is what the headline currently is (unless they’ve changed it again). There are many others on Twitter and SM who are now constantly keeping an eye on the spins of the media. There are journalists everywhere, except in the MSM. 
  

In a previous post I sought to explain how, having failed with the 2002 riots game, the media is now trying to portray Modi as a regional leader. Rajdeep Sardesai at 9pm on December 11 therefore asks “Is RahulG V Modi a no contest in Gujarat”. Some might miss the clever trick and spin in that tweet. Would RG Vs Modi at any other place be any contest at all? I doubt it. Modi is a man with facts on his fingers and a great orator. In contrast, RG is a ‘Gandhi’ and nothing more. He neither has any talent nor skills for politics. So, the video headline from RG’s Jamnagar speech on CNN-IBN says it all: “Rahul Campaigns, Finally”. That’s like Rajdeep Sardesai and CNN-IBN heaved a sigh of relief that RG finally showed up and delivered their money’s worth. I guarantee you neither NDTV nor CNN-IBN is going to do any fact-check on any statement made by RahulG or SoniaG. This is what people do; they feel the truth and the lies in their gut. They aren’t gullible fools like Justice Katju would like to think. The only fools are some of the Gandhi followers themselves as in the previous post “Boozing with confidence”.  

The arrogance with which the Gandhis claim they delivered everything to this nation is alarming and equally frivolous at the same time. And our media like faithful dogs allows this to continue without challenging them on facts. As Madhu Kishwar notes somewhere, most of the time RahulG is not even in India and no one even in his party knows which part of the world he is and what he does. If RG had the same attendance in any university that he has in the parliament he would be sacked without a second thought. The same arrogance and stupidity gets transferred to his cronies too. They too start making Bimboesque statements. Shweta Bhatt, the Jenny-come-lately, screams: “If I win, it will be a victory for Gujarat; if I lose, Gujarat will lose” (See Firstpost). Gujarat will lose? And she wants Gujaratis to vote for her? I have to say, if such morons lose it will be a big win not only for Gujarat or India but for humanity.  

Over a year ago I started using the term “Blow to Modi” as a sarcastic comment on everything positive that happens to him when the media was happy to keep delivering blows to him for any silly reason. To my surprise I found I have never used it as a title for any of my posts. It’s now quite a popular term on Twitter to snub the media. With the latest round of comedy all I can say is that Rahul Gandhi came, he saw, he spoke and he delivered the “Final Blow to Modi”. 

Rajdeep, CNN-IBN Join Gujarat Election Campaign

Lying is considered a moral offence. Sometimes a lie is even considered healthy if it saves someone or contributes to a good cause; which is why if you look up all our laws there isn’t one against lying. It’s an offence to lie only under oath in a hearing. This is the greatest protection under which our news media thrives and makes its living. As Howard Beale would tell you: “TV is not the truth, it's an amusement park....We lie like hell”. In an earlier post I mentioned Vikram Chandra of NDTV lamenting the degeneration of news. Following the arrest of ZeeNews editors in an extortion case we had more soul-searching in the media. Who else but Rajdeep Sardesai could have tweeted: “I guess journalists are more feared today, but sadly less respected. We are more arrogant, less ethical. Gnight”. (Nov 28) More feared? Nobody fears or respects journalists anymore, that’s the reason Jindal group screwed the morons from Zee. Rajdeep’s channel also has the brand name IBNLive but he might remember that it often earns the nickname CNN-IBNLies. So on Nov 28 RS once again does a show “Is the media facing a serious credibility crisis”?

Any introspection has to begin with the What and Why media got to where it is. You will find nothing of that sort in RS’s show. Among the panellists were N. Ram, Shekhar Gupta and Vinod Mehta. These three gentlemen have quite a lot answering to do on their own. Who is introspecting? Gupta says editors and editorial intervention should be restored and that on TV the anchors and editors are rolled into one. Sort of judge, jury, and prosecutor all rolled into one. Gupta probably refuses to accept that there are no more editors. There are only “Editorialists” whose job is to “swing” public opinion for political pursuits. And it’s even more rewarding when it comes to Gujarat and elections in Gujarat. Over a decade our news channels have distributed some of the biggest lies about the state and about Narendra Modi. They have been exposed again and again but never learn. So, all the introspection that RS frequently attempts is poor theatre at best. Consider this ruling by an American court with respect to Fox News who appealed a verdict against them:

“In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States… During their appeal, FOX asserted that there are no written rules against distorting news in the media. They argued that, under the First Amendment, broadcasters have the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on public airwaves”. There! You see, that applies to Indian media too. The Fox case was actually against reporters hired by them and not enemies. Lying, falsifying reports, distortion are not crimes. This gets even better when it comes to Gujarat. So, in keeping with the tradition of the last decade CNN-IBN first sends out the Social Genius, to Gujarat on a mission to find out the condition of Muslims in the state. Then on November 29 RS runs a show on why Muslims are being ignored by BJP in the state. CNN-IBN has well and truly joined the election campaign.

Throughout her journey in Gujarat Sagarika let out some very Bimboesque tweets which have so come to represent her mind and her thinking. And such a moron is going to pass off her petty opinions as a great work of research. That’s CNN-IBN for you. Those opinions aren’t aired yet. They are going to be aired today afternoon and are quite predictable. And what exactly is Rajdeep’s problem? That the BJP hasn’t given a ticket to any Muslim candidate although they form 9 or 10% of Gujarat’s population! Yes, he is that naïve. He, being Numero Uno in political analysis, doesn’t understand the basis of selecting candidates and feels ticket distribution should be on the basis of population. That Hindus can’t represent Muslims as they do in many other constituencies in India or vice-versa. That only Muslims can represent themselves and no one else. It’s because of channels like Rajdeep’s that there is an entire site dedicated to media lies. Don’t laugh, it’s really called TVNewsLies and here are excerpts from their deception statement:

“Today's establishment media practice very little journalism and they devote minimal resources to reporting actual news… They spend most of their resources to create a false reality for the public while they distract you from the most important issues facing our world. For all practical purposes you can safely say that the reality portrayed by the establishment media bears little resemblance to the actual world in which we live… An easy way to think of this is that the people in the establishment media are holding up an orange for you to look at while they tell you that it is an apple…. Lies come in many forms. Partial truths, selective facts, out of context quotes and information, partial historical perspective and out right misrepresentation of facts. It is easy to manipulate the public. If you become aware of the methods of deception you are better prepared to sift through the propaganda for the few facts that are actually made available by our broadcast our news media”.

RS seems to have little problem with the massive appeasement policies of various govts including the GOI towards the Muslims. He has problems only when Muslims in Gujarat aren’t given tickets for the election by the BJP. It never bothered him that all the MPs from Delhi are Hindus voted by Muslims too from a party that indulges in Muslim-appeasement. Election tickets are a political issue. Tickets are issued also based on political manoeuvres of the opponents. The most condemned politics in recent times, even in the media, has been the politics of caste and religion. Rajdeep seems to still live in an era of Madhavsinh Solanki’s KHAM theory in Gujarat. The theory that made Gujarat voters dump the Congress. But fairness to the population or fair representation is hardly Rajdeep’s motive. The simple motive is to trash BJP and Narendra Modi any way he can; which is what he has been doing the last ten years. He either wants apologies from Modi or portray Muslims as being discriminated against in Gujarat. This, at a time when even Muslims are beginning to acknowledge they have suffered more at the hands of other parties.

During the HT Summit in 2007 Rajdeep asked probably the dumbest question a host could ask. He asked Modi if Gujarat’s development reaches its entire people or only the Hindu majority. Modi responded by asking if water flows in the Sabarmati does it cater only to 90% or to all the 100% whose lives depend on that water. Rajdeep also used that occasion to reiterate the “Mass murderer” tag for Modi. He also used the term “Hero of hatred” to describe Modi. With all this animosity and hatred within him, on what grounds does Rajdeep even consider himself morally fit to question any decision of Modi? But hell, its election season and he has to do his bit for the campaign against Modi. And Muslims have been such a phenomenal tool for the media just as they are for certain political parties.

And if that wasn’t enough there is Shweta Bhatt, wife of Sanjiv Bhatt, who will now contest on a Congress ticket against Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad. Excellent! Nothing wrong with that. She is the wife of the “Super cop”, the “top cop” and the “whistle-blower” so touted by the media. On Rajdeep’s very channel Sanjiv Bhatt called Modi a “common criminal”. So thrilled was CNN-IBN that they kept playing that sound-bite over and over again. The SIT on Gujarat riots rejected claims of Bhatt and yet the media kept backing him. The whole world suspected then that Sanjiv Bhatt was nothing more than a Congress stooge. Some of his affidavits were even reported to be drafted by a reporter from TOI, Manoj Mitta. But Rajdeep and his colleagues suspected nothing. Must be all those emails Bhatt was sending him. After all, he is Numero Uno when it comes to political analysis. And this guy talks about Muslims in Gujarat? Pathetic!

As far as I know, and I know with a certain authority too, that Muslims in Gujarat are much better off than in many other states in India. The few streets and gullys that CNN-IBN and other channels show in their reports are not unique to Muslims. These can be found in other communities too in Gujarat where the poor live. Poverty hasn’t disappeared from India and it hasn’t totally disappeared from Gujarat. But guess what, at every opportunity CNN-IBN will be there to rake up old wounds under the garb “Gujarat Muslims: A new narrative”. The title is as deceptive as it possibly can. The manner in which both Sagarika and Rajdeep have been screaming about Muslims are nearly attempts to divide a state on religious lines and sowing seeds of communal disharmony. It can also amount to provoking Muslims with fears where there are none. Is there nothing else about Gujarat other than Muslims? Should that be the only factor that should decide elections? Has Rajdeep ever asked why there has never been a Muslim Nobel winner from India? Surely, day isn’t far off when he blames Modi for that too.

Someone did give an answer to the Social Genius on her journey of malice. Asifa Khan, a Congress member who recently joined BJP, told her: “A foot soldier from BJP is doing much better than a Congress MLA or Congress MP would have done”. I don’t think Rajdeep is going to hunt for a deep explanation why Congress is held in such contempt in Gujarat. Truth might be that the conditions of Muslims in a Muslim-ruled J&K maybe far worse than Gujarat. I doubt CNN-IBN or the Social Genius is going to do a show on that. As for the moronery of the husband-wife duo what says it better than Akhilesh Yadav, whose six months in charge of UP have seen 9 communal riots being their Indian of the year nominee? A bunch of bigots whose hatred for Modi and prejudice against Hindus have often coloured the vision of CNN-IBN. This isn’t the first time.

And then Rajdeep wonders if media is facing a credibility crisis. The problem for him, as also many other media celebs, is that they haven’t been able to juggle their work of putting out the bare minimum news with facts and that of their political agenda. Rajdeep, Sagarika and CNN-IBN have just joined the election campaign in Gujarat. It’s your guess which team they are rooting for. Right behind them is Headlines Today too. It’s only begun. Few months ago when Rajdeep was being asked by Twitterati to report on the Emergency anniversary on June 25 he hit back with a question. He asked if the same Tweeple will remember Babri anniversary on December 6. He’s in luck! This time December 6 is just around the eve of Gujarat elections. Someone will be there to exploit it for added impact in Gujarat. Guess who?

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.

The 'Hang-Modi' Weekend

Yes, it’s that time of the year. This year it’s even more special because it’s the 10th Anniversary of Godhra and the Gujarat riots. Throughout Monday, February 27, you can expect newspapers with specials and TV news channels to carry on endless debates on Gujarat and Narendra Modi. Expect to see sepia toned images of violence, deaths, burnt train compartments. Expect to see special documentaries on the plight, anger and anxiety in certain pockets of Gujarat. Expect to see how muslims from adults to school kids to new-born are systematically being discriminated against in Gujarat. Mind you, some of these stories aren’t unique to Gujarat but exist in pockets of many states in India. But once again, you will be reminded that it’s only in Gujarat alone that sufferings are magnified and state-sponsored. For the record, some of the lies about the Gujarat riots spread through the last decade have been exposed enough for the propaganda to change course. This is particularly the number of people killed, fake rape and torture cases and fake affidavits.

Let’s go back to September 12, 2011 when the Supreme Court returned the Zakia Jafri case to the lower court. Here’s how one politician still holding Modi criminally responsible for the riots responded: Sitaram Yechury of CPM stated that it does not absolve Modi of the “communal ri…” and then he paused, thought for a second and said “communal pogrom”. That is one of the major lies that was being spread. 790 muslims and 254 hindus were killed in the riots; far from features you would associate with a pogrom. The communal riots were terrible but creating a political agenda out of them is just as bad. The second big lie were the numbers themselves. All the reporters and political activists like Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vir Sanghvi, Teesta Setalvad, Shabnam Hashmi, Sanjiv Bhatt, Arundhati Roy, Harsh Mandar and many more have consistently fabricated the numbers killed between 2000-3000. Some still and will continue to do so.

What to expect? Well, one of the reporters who was instrumental in spreading untruths about the riots, Rajdeep Sardesai, is already off the block with a blogpost “Modi's 'Sadbhavana' and the horror of 2002” on February 24 and he wonders if there’s closure and if Gujarat has moved on. Rajdeep continues the same refrain from the past of how muslims have become second class citizens in Gujarat. There is a major change though. In his post he doesn’t use the word “Guilty” for Modi and he doesn’t use the term “mass murderer” which he had frequently borrowed from his HT colleague Vir Sanghvi. But well, old habits die hard so Rajdeep does start his post with a lie: “Has Gujarat really moved on ten years after the terrible violence of 2002? The answer depends on who the question is asked to. Chief minister Narendra Modi, for example, claims to have moved on to the point where he refuses to take questions on the past”. Well, during the Sadbhavna mission in September 2011 Modi did speak to a lot of reporters including on the topic of the riots. T.M. Veeraraghav of Rajdeep’s CNN-IBN also got an interview with Modi. So you can expect Rajdeep to use newer, different lies to promote his sentimental clap-trap.

Fast off the block from Hindustan Times (whose former editor could have been in jail for slandering Modi as a “mass-murderer”) is another opinion from Shiv Vishwanathan. Like Rajdeep, he too, starts off with a bang and it’s pretty easy to miss his gentle twist. He states: “In recent times, we had a Special Investigation Team report into the Gujarat riots that claimed that Narendra Modi was not guilty of the riots. If the media were to be believed, the way is now clear for the BJP to anoint him unofficially as prime minister”. This when the SIT report is not even officially released. But that is not the point. The wording of Shiv’s line is “SIT CLAIMED”. Haha! SIT claimed? One should remember that the SIT is an investigative body appointed by the SC and they don’t make claims. They just submit reports on whether they have found evidence to prosecute someone. Claims are usually made by opinionated columnists or TV panelists. For them, unless some legal body or court finds Modi guilty everything is just a “claim”. And then Shiv goes on to wonder whether Modi will fit the bill as PM or not.

Isn’t it amazing? From calling him a criminal, mass-murderer, pogrom manager, Hitler, Nazi, fascist almost everyone in the media is now discussing whether Modi will make it as PM or not. Haha! During the last state elections in Gujarat these very people were wondering if he should even continue as CM. Now they don’t even have the remotest doubt if he will win another state election this year. The fake opinion polls for Gujarat election won’t be published anymore. They would be horrified if they looked in the mirror and noticed that Modi has silently led them up a path where they would be discussing his PM candidature.

Hindustan Times also published the transcripts of Modi’s deposition with the SIT in March 2010. That document contains all the responses of Modi to the questions raised by the SIT. None of the MSM appears to want to discuss or debate that. TV channels have been quiet on that front. The reason is pretty obvious. The answers contain many facts which were so far conveniently hidden from the public. That Modi had appointed Congress leaders to watchdog committees after the riots must come as revelation to the public. The number of times he had appealed for peace and called for the army in time is all facts that were twisted by the media. Having failed to politically or legally hang Modi the media crooks started a weird campaign seeking an apology.

What to expect? Well, I think one can also expect a special bout of ‘We the poodles’ by Barkha Dutt with the usual peddlers of the drug called ‘untruth’ on Sunday, February 26 or a special programme of some kind. After all, she and Rajdeep were the ones who fuelled the spectacular anti-Modi campaign which provided refuge for all kinds of liars. Arundhati Roy has more or less disappeared from her campaign of lies. Teesta and Sanjiv Bhatt are struggling to keep untruths alive. Vir Sanghvi has been mass-murdered by Radia. Barkha has been tainted by Radiagate, Barkhagate, Barkhabarks, shoddy 26/11. Barkha has now been reduced to a sorry mouthpiece of the Congress party and the Hurriyat (As Swapan Dasgupta jokes). To her credit she did manage to improve her wardrobe during this time though. Rajdeep, apart from Cash4Votes also got trashed for the fraudulent telecast of Sri Sri debate by his wife. Rajdeep has already announced a programme ‘Revisiting Gujarat and If Gujarat has moved on’ on CNN-IBN for the weekend. Expect another round of selective story-telling by him. And yes, Rajdeep will actually CRY!

They say truth is the first casualty of the war. Our media claimed Gujarat was different because it was the first time riots were on camera and on TV. That is only half the truth. The other half is that this is the first time a great campaign of lies and untruths was carried out by the media for political ends and sustained for the better part of a decade. Now the lies and the liars are falling apart. But brace yourselves – the ‘Hang-Modi’ weekend has just started and expect some new concoction to be served.

Also read:  1) Gujarat riots - The true story   2) SC exposes media's clean shit.

Hasta La Teesta... Baby!

In the famous action movie ‘DieHard’ John Mclane’s wife isn’t sure if he’s dead or alive after another round of battle with the terrorists. Karl, one of the terrorists, then walks into the hostage-holding area raving mad, screaming and smashing everything in sight. She then whispers to a colleague “he’s still alive”. To the puzzled colleague she whispers her reasoning “Only John can drive somebody that crazy”. That is true for many villains. Sooner or later they lose their cool when their best laid plans go wrong. Something like that happened on TimesNow on the night of February 9 with Teesta Setalvad. The discussion was on the closure report of the SIT probing Gujarat riots which has reportedly given a clean chit to Narendra Modi on allegations of his involvement in the 2002 riots. Naturally, this is something Teesta has been unable to stomach.

It took someone like Meenakshi Lekhi, a lawyer from BJP who frequently appears on TV panels, and is an equally feisty lady to drive Teesta crazy and up the wall when she said: “..She (Teesta) has been repeatedly been committing perjury before the courts…will send you those 340 petitions”. Teesta’s response? She rants “That’s a lie, no court has held me guilty of perjury..” and then she walks out of the show. Wait a minute! No court has held her guilty? That is surprising because all along she has held Modi guilty of murder, guilty for women raped and tortured, called him names along with others. If one were to go by the number of times Teesta has declared Modi guilty you would believe a thousand courts have held him guilty. Yet, it’s only Teesta who’s not guilty of perjury because no court has said so. The clip below shows her moment when Lekhi drives her crazy like Mclane did the terrorist in DieHard:

The whole idea that Modi is guilty even when there’s no FIR against him, even when no court has pronounced him guilty is a rule that is concocted by Teesta and others. In contrast the SIT has indicted Teesta on her fake affidavits and even her own colleagues have filed cases against her on her lies and coercive methods.  One hopes Obnoxious Arnab and other TV mullahs learn a lesson: Teesta is unfit to be on any panel discussing justice for anyone. Her washing machine for justice, also known as Citizens for Justice, is more like a Ponzi scheme that thrives on lies, lies and more lies. Needless to say, her campaign has been funded in the past by political parties like the Congress and the CPM according to the page about her on Wikipedia.

Teesta wasn’t alone though. The campaign of calumny was carried out by Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, their TV channels, Shabnam Hashmi, Harsh Mandar, Vir Sanghvi, Sanjiv Bhatt, Mallika Sarabhai and many more. Some of them are fortunate Modi hasn't prosecuted them for defamation in calling him a 'mass murderer' or 'common criminal'. In Indian media history this has to be the biggest campaign of lies ever carried out by a bunch of people. Some of them have already protested the SIT closure report and that Modi shouldn’t be given a clean chit. It is worth remembering that the SIT itself was an outcome of Teesta and others petitioning the Supreme Court. As someone pointed out; it is a travesty and mockery of justice when it doesn’t go their way.

Just in case we forget this same Teesta in a way justified the Godhra burning of 59 Hindus with this comment on the day of the incident:  "While I condemn today's gruesome attack, you cannot pick up an incident in isolation. Let us not forget the provocation. These people were not going for a benign assembly. They were indulging in blatant and unlawful mobilization to build a temple and deliberately provoke the Muslims in India." So because they Hindus were assembling for the temple the muslims were provoked and were justified in the burning of people. It is such sick logic that results in the kind of backlash that Godhra brought about.

In their enthusiasm to please their political masters some of these activists and media celebs had led the Jafri family up a garden path. They led the family to believe the only justice is the hanging of Modi. Everything the lie-mongers claimed has been negated by the SIT. The frivolous affidavits by Sanjiv Bhatt have also been reduced to toilet paper, to put it mildly. It might be worth noting that the complainants withdrew the name of Rahul Sharma from their petition. He is supposedly an anti-Modi cop. For long the conniving media have treated Teesta Setalvad as some super expert on the Gujarat riots. Where justice for the victims is concerned she has probably done the greatest disservice by making destroy-Modi her sole and personal ambition. The undeniable fact remains that the SIT didn’t find anything against Narendra Modi and some others to implicate them in the killing of Ehsan Jafri or other cases.

The media has lost the moral, political and legal battle against Modi on the Gujarat riots. What new campaign they may come up with next is left to their conscience. But one thing they must learn is bringing in spurious panelists with ulterior motives frequently to tarnish someone doesn’t pay. Teesta Setalvad is supposedly a lawyer. Imagine her walking out of a court of law when proceedings don’t suit her. Justice Arnab runs his TV channel like a mock court but walking out on a show because of intolerance of others' criticism is the final sign of a loser. The TV channels will do well not to bring her back on again ever. Her fame and game are up in flames! And in all probability Teesta, with all the cases against her, might see jail far before Modi, if he ever does at all. In this case, if not the real Arnie the Terminator, our own Obnoxious Arnie can well afford to say “Hasta la vista” to her or should the media be telling her “Hasta la Teesta… Baby!”