By
Aditya Aamir
Merriam-Webster’s
word of year 2018 is “justice”. Oxford dictionary chose “toxic” and
Dictionary.com gave distinction to “misinformation”. New York Times, Washington
Post and CNN may not have picked “fake”, probably the most referred word in
“news cycles over months and months”, because the Trump-given “fake” to them
has stuck to them whether they like it or not, whether they are nowhere fake at
all. Perhaps a word not considered by wordsmiths is “conduct” which is at the
heart of “justice”, “toxic” and “misinformation” and “fake”. And the
conduct of a police officer was subject of a Privilege Motion in the Lok Sabha
Wednesday.
Privilege
motions relate to privileges enjoyed by members of Parliament and legislative
assemblies and woe to the man who breach them. Legislators irrespective of
party affiliations are not beyond ganging up to protect their privileges. Union
Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, however, might not get that privilege, not when the
issue is Sabarimala and it involves a police officer acting under the orders of
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who has his privileges to consider. The
charge against Superintendent of Police Yateesh Chandra is that he “misbehaved”
with Pon R and his “body language” was insulting.
To
the aam hoi polloi, police misbehaviour is a daily occurrence as it is standard
behaviour for the police. And “this Yateesh Chandra police” is “Dirty
Harry” on the rolls of the IPS. He doesn’t make a distinction. He has gone
after the left and left of centre with the same lathi and it didn’t make a
difference. It is only the right (BJP) which has taken exception to his tone
and tenor. Soon after his encounter with Pon R, Chandra was made Trichur SP and
given a “medal” by Pinarayi. Now, Yateesh Chandra’s “conduct” is
subject of scrutiny and it is to be seen whether Pon R gets “justice.”
The
problem is these are “toxic” days and there is a lot of “misinformation”
floating in the form of “fake” news, the “post-truth.” Whether SP Yateesh
Chandra speaks in a certain way with a body language that is offending, even if
without intention, will be weighed against Minister Pon R’s body language and
language delivery. Pon R is that sort of man descended from ape who is so
soft-spoken that those who hear him are liable to misread him. Yateesh Chandra
did and that is his undoing.
Which
brings us to UPA Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and NDA Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, their conduct in so far as relations with the Press are concerned. Singh
has been ridiculed by media and rival politicians as “Maun Mohan Singh”, for
being “silent” on “toxic” corruption. Singh took that on the chin and kept
walking the talk in his own “less said the best” manner of conduct. Singh’s
diction and delivery is largely fashioned by his role as distinguished professor
before he became RBI Governor and Prime Minister. RBI governors are preferred
to remain silent bots as recent ones will attest.
Compare
PM Singh with PM Modi and the latter cannot be halted for being scarce with
words. They roll off his tongue in pearls of wisdom. The tone at times
conspiratorial. Modi delivers from the stage and it’s always a one-man show.
Modi avoids the bunched Press like a plague. He hasn’t held a presser to a hall
since takeover in 2014, preferring one-on-one with select editors of friendly
media. “Maun” Mohan Singh held midair press briefings on the way back from
foreign lands. To the professor in him, journalists with their questions were
no different from college students with queries. Simple!
Modi
is once bitten twice shy several times over. The Press kept him chained to
Gujarat 2002 to such an extent and for so long that he probably shakes in his
designer-pyjamas whenever he pictures a bunched press throwing questions at
him. His “conduct” past and present likely to be questioned. In that he is
unlike POTUS Donald Trump, who is to media what bee is to bonnet, not averse to
facing the Press inside or outside the White House press briefing room, his
hair an orange frame of defiance, his words red hot Republican! Nothing scares Trump
– neither hurricane nor Stormy Daniels!
But
Trump and Modi draw a parallel. They both talk to the “people” directly, Trump
with twitter and Modi with Man Ki Baat. Trump and Modi also rail at rallies and
brag at them, too. And it is at rallies that they go after rivals with words
and body language that will teach a thing or two about privileges and conduct
to Pon Radhakrishnan and SP Yateesh Chandra. “Conduct” is the word which
explains the “silence” of prime ministers, which of them with action and
conduct heard the silent cries of the lambs, the perennial sacrificial lambs –
the Aam Aadmi! (IPA Service)
The post The Silence Of ‘Maun’, Modi And The Lambs appeared first on Newspack by India Press Agency.
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