For the last 3 weeks media houses have declared an all out war against the BJP and the Central government. Their goal is to package non-issues as scams so that the Congress can prevent the functioning of parliament. This will hold up legislations which will impact the economy...
Before we get into what drives this behaviour .. lets analyse the so called scams ...
At the heart of these scams is Lalit Modi. He is portrayed as a fugitive and among India's most wanted. Being seen with Lalit Modi is now tantamount to corruption and even treason... before we get judgemental on Lalit .... here are a few facts
- Lalit Modi has been served notices by the ED under FEMA. Other folks who received the same notices are BCCI and N Srinivasan
- Getting a ED notice is like a getting an IT notice. The only difference is that ED looks into foreign currency income. Like IT, ED charges under FEMA attracts a penalty i.e. a fine which needs to be paid up. This is civil case which requires no bail or personal attendance. Under law you can appoint a CA to represent you.
- ED notices are fairly common in India... most business and media houses have got one. e.g. Walmart, Flipkart, owners of TimesNow all have received ED notices in the past.
- There is no FIR or charge sheet against Lalit Modi. There is not even a investigation under money laundering law ...
- Under law, only a court can label any person as a fugitive... the Delhi High Court judgement last August is so overwhelmingly in favour of Lalit Modi that no sensible govt will goto the SC..
- Lalit Modi claims that he choose to be in London for he does not want to meet the same fate as Sunanda Pushkar who was found dead hours before a press conference she called to reveal IPL scams.
Next lets look at the conduct of Sushma Swaraj and Vasudera Raje
- Sushma Swaraj - Sushma Swaraj when asked by the UK govt on travel papers for Lalit Modi indicated that UK should follow their own laws. When asked if any decision taken would impact India-UK relations, she gave a emphatic 'NO'. Sushma acted per the directives of the SC which stated in the famous Maneka Gandhi v/s Indira Gandhi case that access to travel and related document constitutes a fundamental right under the constitution of India. It would be patently unconstitutional to limit the freedom of an individual when there is no FIR against him. Relations between India and UK are too important to be made dependent on any one individual. Sushma acted as per the constitution and in national interests.
- Vasundera Raje - Charge against Raje is that she supported Lalit in his application. It is not a crime to support a family friend in a personal capacity. In fact the court in London did find merit in Lalit Modi's application and allowed him to stay in London. Fact is that not only Raje but politicians from across party lines, CEOs have provided affidavits. There is no law that Raje has violated. By the same logic, all of Bollywood should be sent to jail for supporting Salman Khan ...
So what is driving the media .... the answer lies down South .... Sun TV group of companies is on the verge of loosing their license and will have to shut down ... a case is being made that when promoters of media channels involve in dubious international money transactions , they cede control to international players.... this is against the law and puts the country at risk. If this same yardstick is applied to the owners of many media houses ... they will have to shut down. Cases against NDTV, ED notices to TimeNow owners are already in public domain ....media had to declare an all out war for survival .....
BJP is left with no options ... when war is declared on you ... you have to fight it ..... and fight they will.....when all is done and dusted the landscape of media houses will be very very different ...
Good analysis...but not really sure how much of us know these and learn the actual intention of so called secular media houses
ReplyDeleteGood analysis...but not really sure how much of us know these and learn the actual intention of so called secular media houses
ReplyDelete