Why Barkha Dutt needs to be defended

I have been at the receiving end of highly critical flak for the recent post on my blog. Few of them
have come through authentic source and they have attached their email address in case I feel that I
should revert back to them.

Mostly though have been under the hood of anonymous. And I have no problem with the person
being anonymous, since it’s me who has exercised this option of having anonymous comments. But I
have been a bit disturbed by the use of language and words which to put it mildly is inappropriate.

All of the comments and feedbacks barring a rare few have said that I am acting as an agent of
Barkha Dutt and I am one of those educated idiot who has been recruited by Congress.

I am sure not many of those who have commented on the recent post of mine have gone though my
previous posts. And I don’t expect them to do so. None of the commentators have been following
my blog so it would be unfair on my part to expect them to know I am ‘what’ leaning. As in am I a
Leftist, a Centrist or a bloody Rightist.

I am none. In my previous blogs I have criticized every one. Be it Yechury, be it Rahul Gandhi or be it
Narendra Modi. Those who are interested can click on the tags and go through the articles that have
been posted through the period of four years since the “Story teller” has come into existence.

I had criticised every political party barring no exception. So much so that some of my friends who
were following me and who were politician by profession had to de-follow me.

As for Barkha Dutt I have never been a fan of her, a fact that I have already elucidated in the
previous post. I have also stated out my reasons for being so.

And it’s not that this is the first instance that I have written against her. I was critical of her when she
got the Padma Shri. And I was aghast at the way she played herself while covering Mumbai attacks.

But in the present case- which in history books will go as ‘Barkhagates’ I stand my ground that she
did nothing wrong.

She is a journalist and like every other journalist she has to talk to N number of people for X number
of reasons. And I would like to at the expense of offending some people that she has no duty
towards the general public to tell us that whom did she talk to and why . She has no reason to give
out her source. Not to me, not to you and not even at the sets of the “Buck stops here”.

Sometimes back there was a fierce tussle going on between two state leaders of a national party.
And it happened by chance that one of friend happened to knew both of them . So one of the leader
who was suffering politically asked my friend to intervene and sort out the matter . So the trio met at
my friends house and the matter was sorted out.

Nothing was gifted to my friend by any of the leaders for this ‘service’. No farm house- no telecom
license, no nothing. What he got was a good will from both. And he ran that story in the newspaper
that the two leaders who were at loggerhead for quite some time have now sorted out all the
differences.
NDTV or Barkha too did not fail to cover the 2G scam. And as a matter of fact they can’t afford to go
silent on scam of such magnitude. For two reason. First, they have a reputation to live on. Secondly if
they go silent it’s not that the other channels too would follow suit. In this era of highly activated
environment no major channel or newspaper can afford to blackout any story for too long.

Just to make a point , even the Hindu , a newspaper that perhaps is the most respected publication
in India, had to cover A Raja, though they never went hyper when it came to going all out against
Raja, like the other publication did. And one of the reason for that was the Hindu employee union is
DMK run, a party to which A.Raja belongs.

The reason that made Barkha is being made out a demon in the eyes of the public is that it was an
expose’. A sensational expose having all the ingredients like a lady PR who has all the right
connections and a minister who has just puked Rs. 1.76 crore.

And she was caught in between the fair lady and the King.

People are saying that she owes more responsibility than any other journalist because she is idolized
and trusted by many. But it becomes a burden of sort if that very huge expectation stops someone
from doing his/her duty.

A ‘mythical’ expectation and a dumb founded belief has curtailed many a flights and brought down
many a flying objects. And instead of acting as a source of encouragement it has come out as a
reason for many people falling down.

Some people have suggested that the time has come to have a media watch dog like we have the
election commission. Without arguing anything I would say that the day media is put in chains we as
a country would lose the only thing which has made sure that we as citizens are not consigned to
flames of hell that have are routinely born as a result of whims and fancies of few .