Willful vilification!

Union Telecom Minister Thiru Kapil Sibal in a painstaking exercise, has laid bare the hollowness of the CAG report in arriving at a mind-boggling amount of Rs.1,76,000 crore as presumptive loss in the allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008 by the former incumbent Thiru A.Raja, which provided a handle to the media and opposition parties to unleash a vilification campaign, spreading canards and taking the people of the country for a ride.

Unable to dent the objective analysis provided by the Minister, the BJP leader Arun Jaitley has said “If the 2G spectrum allocation has caused no loss then why did A.Raja resign?” He has simply forgotten or pretends so of the reason adhered by the DMK leadership in offering Raja’s resignation following the ruckus created by opposition parties in Parliament and stalling its proceedings following the leak of the CAG report in the Press even before it reached Parliament from the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Kalaignar said on Nov.13 that “We have asked Raja to resign only to allow the functioning of Parliament which we consider as the mother of democracy in India,” so that issues of public importance could be taken up. There was no reference 2G spectrum issue either in the statement of the DMK leadership or in the resignation letter of Raja. The BJP or the self-proclaimed champions of aam aadmi (common man) the CPM and CPI could not rebut Kapil Sibal’s contention that the people have been benefited to the tune of Rs. One lakh crore due to drastic reduction of telephone charges. Jaitley questioning the UPA government’s allocation of licence in 2008 in the 2001 prices shows that he has not even cared to read the full text of Sibal’s statement.

While it is understandable that the opposition parties face the music, the mainstream media suffer a loss of face after their vitriolic campaign for nearly two months against Raja and the UPA government, that there were no editorials, column and articiles in English dailies or debates in 24x7 TV news channels on Sibal’s contentions. The hype they created had ended up in a fiasco. But no one has the integrity to admit their guilt.

Ever since the media started their Raja-hatao campaign, certain subsequent developments and media going berserk was witnessed. First a development in the Madras High Court. On a PIL, the Division Bench comprising Justices F.M.Ibrahim Kalifulla and M.M.Sundaresh on Dec.6 ordered suspension of the membership of R.K.Chandramohan and consequently his chairmanship of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry for an alleged attempt to influence High Court judge R.Raghupathy (since retired) using the name of the then Union Minister A.Raja in a matter relating to an anticipatory bail. No case was made out directly against Raja that he himself telephoned to the judge. But the television channels immediately went on with stories that Raja interfered in judicial process, intimidated judge etc., The English newspapers published prominent stories with huge photograph of Raja accusing him. Later when the issue was developed into one between the retired judge of Madras High Court, the former Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Judge H.R.Gokhale and the former Chief Justice of India Justice K.S.Balakrishnan, systematically by the over zealous TV channels in their antipathy for Raja, the former CJI K.G.Balakrishnan portrayed as covering up Raja’s ‘misdemeanour’ and scores of articles were written questioning his integrity.

Then another development in Kerala came in handy for the media in its Balakrishnan-whipping. The son-in-law of him, who is a Youth Congress functionary P.V.Sreenijan and the brother of him, who was Government pleader were alleged to have amassed wealth beyond then known sources of income. Immediately there were cries for removal of Balakrishnan as chairman of National Human Rights Commission and order investigation against him. When he was confronted with question about allegations against his brother and son-in-law, as any other person, he simply said, “Why ask me? Ask them?” What can he do for allegations against his relatives? He had had a distinguished judicial career. He was appointed as judge of Kerala High Court in 1985, became Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court in 1998 and Chief Justice of Madras High Court in 1999, appointed as judge of Supreme Court in 2000 and sworn in as Chief Justice of India in January 2007 and retired in May 2010.

Incidentally he is the first Dalit to occupy the post of Chief Justice of India. The fact that he is also Dalit like Raja, smacks of a systematic and willful vilification by the media which cannot be wished away given their notorious campaign against Reservation policy in the past.