KAHIHI

“A stone in the hands of a rioter is no different than a refined looking black mike in the hands of a TV journalist”. (This is absolutely my quote, and so far no writer or journalist has mentioned it, I presume. As also is the title phrase.)

Both are used for pelting, forgetting law and conventions, deliberately.

Routinely, Nikhil Wagle, the chief editor of CNN IBN-Marathi wing did the same. This man is not ready to forget that the robe he is wearing is that of an editor and not of a reporter. Neither was he a good reporter, as he expressed. The eveninger he owned, lost skin when his chief reporter left him and started one of his own, many readers might remember.

I do not want to churn the past as NW’s favourite daily panelists do.

A couple of days ago, NW relayed a panel discussion on the survival and leadership of ShivSena, thereby breaking all the conventions.

Earlier the panelists used to eschew this subject as the concerned party’s internal matter. Not anymore and the anchors like NW are responsible for this gossip huckstering.

While talking about all morals, they took due care of not hurting the Sena Supremo, Balasaheb Thackeray, and kept on blaming his son executive president of ShivSena and a few next ranking leaders. It was obvious and loud that they are still scared of the roaring tiger’s wrath. Uddhav Thackeray is a cultured man. His command of language and pragmatism is beyond doubt. He, as far as possible, avoids answering using slang and filthy language of those who serialized such campaigns. He sent them packing out of Matoshree, the central office and his father’s residence when he took over as executive president, never to allow them enter ever. The trouble with Uddhav Thackeray is that he is not a mudslinging public orator and leader as one should be in the present times. Now-a-days, one needs to talk on the top of his voice, however illogical or nonsense it may be. One needs to apply Goebbels principles.

Uddhav Thackeray can’t do or doesn’t want to, is his dilemma, though media is ready with red carpet for that.

Now if he, let us assume that for time being, does so, then the same brigade on the TV channels would abuse him for not remaining as cultured as he was a few days before! But the man seems to be making strides as he wants, least worrying about the cock-a-hoop attitude of the discontented political rivals not able to reach to his position. His defectors approve Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to PM’s post; but not Uddhavs Thackeray’s to ShivSena Executive President. It is on recede now. He didn’t whirlpool his neck to the extent of damaging his vocal cords for that.

Now, NW. He did his journalistic career writing against Balasaheb Thackeray and Sharad Pawar as devoutly as any hardcore Satya Saibaba devotee. He and a few others like him could attract some limelight with success.

There is struggle for the gaining top slot among the leaders of ShivSena, and ShivSena as an opposition must survive, were points of NW’s childish discussion on the day.

In the process, the opponents abound, the then scared and now sure of not facing stiff resistance have started vociferating, to satisfy their own bosses.

Bhai Jagtap is slowly making a place for him as a spokesman of ruling party in Maharashtra who was scared away from a northern state as a campaigner. However his disarming tact to appreciate the opponent and then tiptoe into past and into irrelevant anecdotes is getting redundant; he perhaps is not able to make out yet.

One oily faced obscure journo panelist, I’m not sure but someone called him Yuvraj, was given the duty of opposing anything against ShivSena that comes across discussion table a la any Congress spokesmen or pro Congress editors in Delhi. He wasn’t ready to accept anything nor seemed to have understood the subject. He took delight in describing the session stories.

The representative sent by ShivSena was a new one but was not out immediately as expected by others there.

A question was raised over Uddhav Thackeray not allowing any meeting with ShivSainiks unlike Balasaheb Thackeray to whom the new batsman hit a six, pinpointing whether Sonia Gandhi allowed Bhai Jagtap any meeting anytime. The third partial umpire i.e. Nikhil Wagle sitting in anchor room (chair) intervened fast, before Bhai and declared him not out casting away the tantalizing question.

The next panelist was a Communist leader who didn’t budge from his opinion and could have been trouble maker was kept away as the wont of NW is.

Thank Chanakya, NW didn’t invite Sujata Anandan, the scrounging political editor of Hindustan Times whose life time vrat (vow) is to oppose ShivSena and as a whole Marathi political leaders one and all by deriving her knowledge and opinions discussing with her aunt in the kitchen, perhaps.

Next time call her, Mr. NW. it would be a wonderful mess for you.

In short, The Plaster of Paris Panelists were shedding crocodile tears.

I hope to look forward to such a discussion about congress and later on MNS from the quasi gutsy editor.