MEDIA AS JURY: CROSSING THE CONSTITUTIONAL LOC!

By Sanjay Pinto

A top cop in Tamilnadu  recently confided in me  that he has stopped watching news channels, because he sees  Television as ‘chewing gum for the eyes’! The antipathy for the medium usually stems from accusations of sensationalism and what has become almost a cliché – ‘trial by the media’. Both these charges are not without merit but are not the exclusive preserve of the electronic media; newspapers, magazines and their online cousins can all be looped in as co-accused!

As a journalist with a legal academic background and experience in covering hundreds of cases – sensational and others, throughout my career, I do believe the charge calls for serious introspection in our newsrooms.

Free speech, that the media enjoys and extends to readers and viewers may be a fundamental right. So is the right to a fair trial; and the right to privacy, flowing as they do from the broader Right To Life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The apex court has repeatedly held that personal liberty is an essential ingredient of the Right To Life. How do we dovetail the Right To Freedom Of  Speech and Expression with The Right To Life in this context? And the principle of jurisprudence that conviction can only be by procedure established by law? Not by contemporaneous reporting. Not by a media campaign. Not based on versions and perceptions of political correctness. Remember that brilliant comment of former US Supreme Court  Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr : “ The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” That logic often eludes Editors and Reporters today as they grapple for scoops and headlines.

Quite like the modern day unwritten  ‘rule of the road’ (Not the A.G.Gardiner masterpiece!) that the bigger vehicle is always the offender in an accident, there is an almost frenzied presumption and even premature pronouncement of guilt of an accused by sections of the media to project themselves as crusaders against injustice of their definition. Take the case of the Aarushi murder. Sections of the media conducted their own investigation, trial and came up with their own verdict! A sped arrow that made many of them eat humble pie. Or the case of a school teacher in North India who was erroneously and recklessly implicated  by some channels as an accused in a sex racket. For a journalist,  there is always the protective veneer of privilege when it comes to a truthful and balanced reporting of court proceedings. For an aggrieved party, the Press Council can admonish and pull up an errant reporter and even direct the publication of an apology or clarification. But more often than not, the clarification does not get the same prominence as the offending article but  is tucked away in a corner like a statutory warning on a cigarette pack!  Even the Indian Law Commission had taken note of this trend in its Report No.200 in 2006. 

And if you thought celebrities had to only watch out for the paparazzi, you are off the mark! I have observed a sort of lynch mentality, mob psychology at play, when it comes to reporting on the rich and famous. So a BMW owner/driver who runs over road workers sleeping on a pavement makes it to the headlines and provides grist for a sustained ‘campaign’ and studio discussions on why the police should register a case under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder . However, the same  hue and cry is not  raised when a  State Transport Bus driver mows down ten pedestrians citing brake failure  and is booked for a mere rash and negligent act under Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code.  If this is not double standards, what is? I most certainly agree with the dictum – ‘Be You Ever So High, The Law Is Above You’. What I am opposed to is the hysteria in jumping to conclusions of guilt just because an accused person is affluent and influential. It is precisely this mindset that  probably prompted eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani to remark in an interview to a colleague that “ some judges are playing to the gallery”. This was in relation to the repeated denial of bail to high profile persons accused in the 2G case. Jethmalani’s opinion may be debatable but there is no denying the fact that  the atmosphere is sometimes vitiated before or during the hearing of sensational cases, with a section of the media perhaps unwittingly playing a role. Why else would cases have to be transferred out of States to facilitate a free and fair trial?  

Our Honourable judges may be made of sterner stuff. They may well be able to insulate themselves from all the din and prattle emanating from OB vans and studio discussions; newspaper reports and online surveys. Even recently some of them said in open court that they are not affected or influenced by what appears in the media. But surely, there needs to be an atmosphere of judicial calm – something that the apex court had referred to in the Zahira Sheikh vs State Of Gujarat case, without any force gnawing at the guaranteed right to a fair trial. 

That said, we must also understand what actually triggers a  ‘media trial’. It is shocking but true that there are Reporters who are overnight  assigned the Court Beat (often because the regular court scribe is on leave)  or those who troop to court halls whenever  a sensational case comes up (don’t forget television seldom affords the luxury of beats. So a tv reporter ends up as a jack of all stories with little leeway for specialisation, although there are honourable exceptions) who don’t quite comprehend the distinction between  a charge sheet and framing of charges, between an interim  injunction and a final order, between a conviction and sentence and even between the CB CID and the CBI! How can you expect these twenty somethings (and television channels are full of  such byte collectors!)  to appreciate the finer aspects of Constitutional guarantees? Or the balance of power in  a democratic set up? Or the rights of an accused? I can never forget an incident in Tiruchirapalli in Tamilnadu, several years ago,  where a battery of lensmen removed the cap of a juvenile delinquent that he was using to cover his face. The school boy was accused of performing a caesarean operation egged on by his over zealous doctor father. Obviously, those who sought to reveal his identity had no clue about the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act that protect the identity of a child in conflict with law.

The final word on what is sub judice and in what scenario it operates is still not out. Former Havard law school professor and former Law Minister Dr. Subramanian Swamy in a recent television interview made an interesting point. Sub judice, he says, applies only to countries that have the jury system. Not in India which does not have it. Also, the mob mentality is shared by media critics as well!  Regular reporting of a sensational case can is  construed as a media trial. It is not. The media has a right and a duty to enter a court hall and truthfully report the proceedings. Public confidence in the rule of law is necessary . That public confidence  comes from what is viewed or read in the media. And if justice should not only be done but also seen to be done, journalists do have a locus standi! 

It is no secret that the average citizen is quite disenchanted with ‘the system’ – the judiciary included. When a case takes years to be decided, faith in the law is shaken. In our country, anyone who does his duty or runs the extra kilometre is branded an activist. When judges started taking suo moto action on media reports and treating even postcards and inland letters addressed to them by ordinary citizens as public interest litigations, society was all praise. And the term ‘judicial activism’ was coined.  I would like to pose  a question.  What is the difference between media trial, as it is loosely used, and media activism?  When a  responsible tv channel – NDTV took up the Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Mattoo, Nitish Katara cases as a campaign, was that a media trial or media activism? Or quite plainly, a  media duty? Was that a pervasive influence of the media detrimental to an impartial judicial making process?  Did it prejudice the truth before it was ascertained? Or did that facilitate the dispensation of justice? Is public angst or hysteria a product of the media or does it exist independently?  Should the media steer clear of the popular clamour for justice?

Yes, there is always the danger of  the ‘caught on camera’ syndrome being riddled with manipulation and incapable of  withstanding forensic and judicial scrutiny. Yes, there is the risk of  an identification parade bristling with practical difficulties, when the images of an accused person are flashed ad nauseum. Yes, good old Prof. Henting was right – that it is better to let ten men go scot free than punish one who is innocent. But the media must be allowed to live up to its role – of being a voice for the voiceless, of championing the cause of the underdog, of taking on the powers that be; and sometimes even institutions. In the process, there is bound to be the  occasional crossing of the Constitional LOC! But editors must always remember that their job is to tell the story not usurp the role of judges.

No Petrol: Chennaiites Work From Home

By Sanjay Pinto

If there is no petrol for three days in a row, how do you commute to work? Many office goers in Chennai have got permission to work out of their home due to this unprecedented scarcity of fuel, post the hike.

There may be less traffic on the roads. But strangely enough, traffic cops can be seen regulating crowds at the few petrol pumps in the city that have limited supplies. At such bunks, petrol is being rationed - just a litre or two per motorist. The instruction is clear: park your vehicles outside and queue up with a bottle or a small can.

Quite like the mad rush for application forms for school admission, many motorists particularly auto drivers and others made a beeline at pumps before the crack of dawn for a few litres. Samuel Rajkumar, a driver fumes: " I stood in the queue for 3 hours from 5 am. At 8 am I got diesel for five hundred rupees. When I asked if I could get some more, I was told to go back to the end of the queue."

What most customers in Chennai now look forward to is not the rollback but the regular supply of fuel. "Are the oil companies playing mind games with us? Create an artificial scarcity so that we would think its ok to shell out more as long as we get to fill our tanks" asked another irate customer.

Oil companies say the situation will improve by tomorrow. People in Chennai wonder if they will keep their word.

No Petrol In Chennai

By Sanjay Pinto

A double whammy for people in Chennai. First they were hit by the steepest hike of petrol in a decade; and now they are greeted by 'No Stock' boards at almost all outlets in the city.

The ones affected the most are two wheeler motorists and autorickshaw drivers who usually do not tank up but fill small quantities regularly. On the day of the announcement of the hike last Wednesday, many bunks ran out of stock of diesel. By the end of last week, a good number of bunks were selling only premium petrol at eighty rupees a litre, effectively taking the hike to over eleven rupees, temporarily. Petrol pump owners, speaking to NDTV on condition of anonymity, deny charges of hoarding and plead helplessness due to "lack of supplies from the companies."

The reason for the pumps drying up over the last 48 hours is being attributed to "no supplies from oil companies." When contacted, the Indian Oil Corporation Public Relations Officer Vetri Selvam told NDTV that he "issue an statement shortly after discussing with the Executive Director."

NDTV witnessed a mad scramble at a pump on the arterial Radhakrishnan Road in South Chennai as soon as a petrol tanker arrived. The sight was reminiscent of scenes in the nineties during the city's acute water scarcity, when people would queue up behind water tankers with pots and buckets! The bunk owners here instructed motorists to park their vehicles on the road, leading to a traffic jam, and come in only with 1 or 2 litre bottles. Sources say the rationing is likely to continue for a few more hours. A "disappointed and angry" customer told NDTV that he had to walk to the bunk  in search of petrol after parking his vehicle "quite a distance away".
The AIADMK is slated to stage a demonstration against the hike across tamilnadu tomorrow and the DMK will hold its protest on Wednesday. Meanwhile, it's not the hike but the scarcity of petrol that has left people in Chennai worried.

Politically Accurate Or Politically Correct?

By Sanjay Pinto

If there was a toss up between facebook and twitter, what would you vote for? For most of us who are on both platforms, that choice would hinge on what we use the social media for.  

Six years on, with over a hundred and forty million users and three hundred and forty million tweets a day, twitter does, at one level, come across as a more non-vegetarian form of the social media! It’s certainly not for the faint hearted or the prickly pears, as, thanks to a section of users, ‘Hate’ can be accorded ‘Industry’ status here. Clearly, it has digressed from its goal to  ‘find out what’s happening, right now, with the people and organisations you care about.’ to a ‘devil may care’ spirit. A lawyer specialising in defamation cases  recently wondered if “twitter is too dangerous a thing to be left to society!” Sid Mallya’s  tweet on the American lady was hardly a ‘Royal Challenge’ and got him into needless trouble.  

However, what was intended to be an outlet for ‘pointless babble’ has turned into a potent tool for sharing bursts of  information ‘As It Happens’. A potential weapon of mass (media) destruction, as die hard users who target mainstream journalists would have you believe. If Arnab Goswami has been given the sobriquet ‘Super Chief Justice’ by some bloggers, let me tell you that there are countless twitterati folk who can be nicknamed ‘single judges’,for the kind of strictures they pass on anyone they choose. I often find tweets that are not politically accurate but politically correct! And the ‘Quote’Marshall syndrome exists here as well; with Retweets modified but posted as ‘RT’, leaving the original author open to unfair sniper attacks. 

But there is something remarkable about the medium. What Wren & Martin may not have been able to accomplish, Jack Dorsey has. The Founder of  twitter has made the fine art of précis writing, that we once used, to send telegrams or write  post cards, seem so simple. And so common. There can be no better practice with brevity as the 140 character tweet. Why don’t many political leaders who are active on twitter, use the same skill while speaking in Parliament?  

Now for the Facebook  analysis. After eight years, six hundred million plus active users, and nine hundred million objects (Pages, Groups, Events), Mark Zuckerberg decided to ask the stock market to put its money where its status is! And quickly changed his own status update to ‘Married’, inviting lakhs of almost instantaneous likes and wishes! That’s the beauty of this medium. From the cradle to the grave, this is your social secretary for life! You use it to manage your albums, track birthdays, give someone a pep talk or a poke, share pictures, videos, wall posts and re-connect with friends from your diaper days. The old Master Card advertisement on priceless photographs can apply to Facebook when some kindergarten pictures of friends are retrieved from the attic and shared on walls.  

What I like the most about Facebook are the privacy settings. If you are engaged in a discussion on your wall, no stranger can gatecrash and shower invectives. For that matter, the danger of strangers is itself remote. The profile information, photographs and mutual friends are sufficient to sniff out impostors and trouble makers. Noticed that I haven’t listed the Chat as a draw? An avid facebooker will tell you how often it hangs; making the good old gtalk a more hassle free option. And there are issues with adding friends. A colleague and friend for two decades – Barkha Dutt hasn’t been able to add me. Neither have I been able to do that. Both of us get a “Sorry, this user has too many friend requests’!  

Coming to my vote? Facebook or Twitter. I’m active on both; a relatively recent starter on twitter with deservedly a fraction of my facebook friends as followers. I have to confess a weakness for Facebook. But on my birthday or wedding anniversary, I’d any day prefer that almost extinct hand written note!

DMK's Dinner Diplomacy?

By Sanjay Pinto

M.Karunanidhi is not an Air India pilot! So if the 88 year old DMK Chief calls in sick, as was initially reported in a section of the media, you don't doubt that. What however baffles me is why and how some circles interpret his decision to give the UPA anniversary dinner a miss, as an "ally skipping" the event. The DMK has no grouse with the Centre at this juncture at least, to sulk like a child. And its MPs are camping in the capital and in all probablility, the likes of T.R.Baalu will break bread later tonight at the UPA do.

I was at 'Kalaignar's' Gopalapuram home this morning. As his elder son and Union Minister M.K.Alagiri, (who actually looked slimmer today!) emerged from the residence, I pinned him down with a question on his rating of the UPA, that he is part of. Initially reluctant to award marks, the Madurai strongman gave in to my persistent posers with a "cent percent" figure! Perhaps the CBSE result fever has gripped Chennai in more ways than one! Or the 2G heat has probably died down a wee bit.  Having inherited the wit of his father, Alagiri had a wisecrack in response to a simple query on whether he is attending the dinner: "I'm on a diet"! Political journalists are seldom kept on short rations in Tamilnadu!

As Karunanidhui was wheeled into his special SUV, I asked him to give the UPA a score out of ten. "Is it an exam or what for me to give marks? Every Govt will have its ups and downs. So you cannot rate it like that." Repartees that you can come up with in the comfort of an air conditioned sound proof studio are not possible on the field with Black Cats and other security personnel unwilling to give you an extra second. Of course, a Govt's performance is like an exam in the house of the people. The voters do the evaluation. And there is nothing frivolous about asking an ally for his self assessment!

Coming back to the dinner diplomacy, those who view the DMK patriarch's absence at the buffet tonight must remember that he moves around in a wheelchair. At 88, he doesn't or cannot exert himself with outstation travel. The last time Karunanidhi went to Delhi was to do his bit for his daughter Kanimozhi who was in the Tihar jail. And on that flight, he is reported to have thrown up a few times. Which is why, he even chose to receive his daughter dear at the Chennai Airport instead of trooping to Delhi again to meet her at the prison gates.

And it is not as if Karunanidhi is a regular at such events. In January last year, he skipped a dinner hosted by the then Governor S.S.Barnala for the visiting Prime Minister. And what was the reason? A prior engagement! So as Manmohan Singh was sipping soup for starters at the Raj Bhavan without his biggest Southern ally, the DMK Chief was releasing a book by his poet friend Vairamuthu. Attendance at dinners is hardly a yardstick to determine rapport. Formalities don't always matter in politics. Especially in Tamilnadu. What Karunanidhi doesn't do, Baalu probably would.

Moreover, 2012 is not quite 2011. Kanimozhi is out of jail. So is even A.Raja. The DMK is backing the Congress Presidential nominee. And the Tamilnadu Congress has reciprocated by boycotting the Pudukottai by poll in deference to the DMK's decision. All is well, between the two parties. Don't be surprised if you find a warm message with a distinction awarded to the UPA in 'Kalaignar In Kaditham" (Karunanidhi's Letter) - the DMK supremo's daily column in the Murasoli paper tomorrow!

I'm curious about something else! Will A.Raja, who reportedly got a pat from P.Chidamabaram in Parliament this morning (remember what a controversy the PM's pat on the former Telecom Minister's shoulder erupted into a few years ago!) turn up at the dinner? That will probably become a juicy picture or a box item.

Chennai Super Queen!

By Sanjay Pinto

Jayalalithaa's Report Card

A First Class Could Have Been A Distinction But For The Power Cuts

Tamilnadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa is known to be a voracious reader. I'm sure she has read Dale Carnegie's "How To Win Friends & Influence People". As the pendulum swings every five years in Tamilnadu, that's what the Chennai Super Queen has been doing every decade. Winning allies and influencing voters. Every new innings has been the result of a huge comeback; a landslide victory that would make psephologists eat humble pie. I've reported extensively on Amma's election campaigns, her second innings and the start of her third stint.

2011 so far, in some measure, comes across as an encore of 2001, in more ways than one! I'm not merely referring to the Michael Jackson style wave and the flashing of the victory sign to the sea of supporters from her balcony that I witnessed outside Poes Garden as a twenty eight year old correspondent; and now an Editor in my late thirties! It's the will to take her opponents head on, the will to fulfill election promises and the will to take tough, even 'unpopular' decisions.

So after one year in office, what does Jayalalithaa's report card look like?

Comparisons can be odious. To be fair to Jayalalithaa, her performance must be viewed keeping in mind, two important facts. First, running a Govt not as an ally of a ruling coalition at the Centre is not quite the same as a regime with a 'Most Favoured State' tag. Unlike the previous DMK dispensation, the present AIADMK Govt has got the short end of the stick from the Centre. And the Tamilnadu Chief Minister has made no bones about the "discrimination meted out to non Congress ruled States" ; through a slew of letters to the Prime Minister on a host of issues, ranging from financial assistance to the demand for more power from the Central grid or at least the entire power generated from Koodankulam. Secondly, the State's coffers were not just empty; a one lakh crore debt greeted the new incumbent.

Against this backdrop, Jayalalithaa's Robert Frost like 'I have promises to keep' persistence deserves encomiums. From free rice to mixies and grinders, cows & goats, laptops, the list goes on. This was enough to prompt one of her Ministers to break into a customary adulatory tone with this gem: "All along our hearts used to beat 'Lub Dub, Lub Dub. Now it's Laptop, laptop!" Doling out freebies after inheriting a huge debt, calls for a great deal of financial skill. That's a big tick mark.

Talking of freebies, would inverters be a good bet?! When Karunanidhi gave ration rice for a rupee, (a DMK election catchphrase coined by former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, then was 'a kilo and a hello for one rupee!) and  free TVs in 2006,that needed cable connections for a hundred rupees, there were questions raised by critics. Now, is it pertinent to ask: 'Mixies & grinders but no power?' The State is reeling under a massive power shortage, exacerbated by the Centre's refusal to pitch in, despite repeated pleas for help. If Chennai faces a two hour power cut everyday in peak summer, there are districts that suffer upto 8 hour outages. Power is well and truly the Govt's nemesis. Quite like Mathematics on my school report card, this singular issue is pulling down the overall score.

And the biggest plus point? Ask any average resident of Tamilnadu about the AIADMK's biggest USP; and you will get a stock reply: Law & Order. You will not come across cops making excuses like "our hands are tied" during the AIADMK rule. A free hand is the hallmark of  effective policing. A simple prescription that led to the elimination of the Veerappan menace during her previous tenure. This matters more than fund allocation for the police budget. If officers are to be believed, the khakhi clad dept doesn't have party workers poking their noses into their work.

 Like a shrewd captain, Jayalalithaa knows how to pick the best players in the bureaucracy and where to field the right hands just like she did during that massive tsunami reconstruction project. The first posting soon after being sworn in as Chief Minister was that of J.K.Tripathy as the Chennai Police Commissioner. A tough, no nonsense, honest officer with a firm grasp of city policing, his appointment resulted in many rowdy gangs taking to their heels! K.Ramanujam, known for his high integrity and a seasoned intelligence officer as the State Police Chief, the US educated S.George, who was sidelined by the previous Govt as his second in command and to also oversee the entire crackdown on land grabbing, Sheila Priya who had a record stint as Secretary to the Governor as her main trusted lieutenant, along with good officers like Rama Mohan Rao & Ramalingam, Debendranath Sarangi, an efficient officer as the Chief Secretary, Amaresh Pujari, with his rich experience in the Inelligence Bureau, as the IG Intelligence & Dr.J.Radhakrishnan, former Nagapattinam Collector during the tsunami to head the implementation of Special Programmes, speak volumes about the intention of the Govt. What's noteworthy is that many officers who held plum positions in the DMK Govt were not sent to the boondocks but have been posted in key positions, some like Dr.Karthikeyan, were even retained as Chennai Corporation Commissioner. Bringing back retired DGP R.Nataraj as the Chairman of the Tamilnadu Public Service Commission to ensure that the body that was involved in a scam earlier,  is "more about service and not about 'commission' was a masterstroke.

However, the sudden transfer of Sheela Rani Chunkath from the Home Dept, the young dynamic IT Secretary Santhosh Babu, P.W.C. Davidar and five Transport Commissioners in one year, have been discussed in hush tones in the Secretariat.

If there were doubts expressed about the competence of a particular law officer, the appointment of P.H.Arvindh Pandian, as Tamilnadu's youngest Additional Advocate General has certainly sent the right signals in legal circles. With the disproportionate assets case in Bengaluru still quite a thorn in her flesh, Jayalalithaa will need all the acumen at her command to overcome the last legal hurdle placed by her bete noire.

The handling of the Mullaperiyar stand off, not just along the Tamilnadu-Kerala border but also the legal battle that the State recently won on raising the height of the dam, are feathers in Amma's cap.

The convent educated Chief Minister, who has often said that she would have become a top notch lawyer, had she not entered tinsel town, seems very comfortable in corporate conclaves, rubbing shoulders with world leaders, like Hillary Clinton and business tycoons. Tamilnadu has well and truly emerged as the Detroit of Asia with automobile goliaths like Yamaha, Daimler, Eicher & Nissan, among others setting up shop here. The huge employment spin off is too conspicuous to be missed. However, there are murmurs about clearances for building sanction plans and some other projects being mired in red tape. Political opponents cite the delay in the approval of the renovated portion of the M.A.Chidambaram cricket stadium, under the auspices of BCCI Chief N.Srinivasan, said to be close to the Marans, as an example. However officials insist it boils down to rules and there is nothing political about it.

Jayalalithaa, has time and again, demonstrated her crisis management skills. We saw that during the tsunami in the past and we've seen that with the response to the devastation caused by the 'Thane' cyclone. When sufficient vitamin-M didn't seem forthcoming from the Centre, she made an appeal to the public, that opened the floodgates to donations.

If it was banning religious conversions the last time that caused heartburn among Christians, it is a different sort of conversion that has sparked criticism from many quarters! The decision to convert the new Secretariat Complex and the Anna Centenary Library - both pet projects of Karunanidhi, into hospitals may not have been what the doctor ordered and will have to stand the test of judicial scrutiny. To some extent, goodwill of the laptop scheme for students may have been dented by the Government's perceived intransigence over the Uniform School Syllabus; ultimately resolved by the Supreme Court.

Taking tough decisions is not new to the 64 year old Chief Minister. Government employees who resorted to a strike the last time, got a taste of the iron hand. That hand resurfaced just after the Sankarankovil by poll and took the Koodankulam protestors, who thought the State Govt was on their side, by surprise. A placard: "Why is the Govt slapping cases of waging war against the State on thousands of its own people who are peacefully campaigning for solar energy as against the hazards of nuclear power?" summed up the standoff. AIADMK insiders point out that their Amma who pioneered the rain water harvesting scheme and who has now banned plastics and is setting up another tiger reserve in Sathyamangalam, needs no environmental lessons from anyone. And that the nod for Koodankulam was given only after a safety audit.

The 2001 midnight arrest of Karunanidhi may have backfired. But that didn't deter the AIADMK Govt this time, from cracking down on land grabbing and arresting almost three fourth of the erstwhile DMK cabinet. The vendetta card was predictably flagged by the DMK. But with the party that is not even the principal opposition in the assembly, ensured that the backlash was minimal, if at all.

Setting her own house in order, quite literally, Jayalalithaa even expelled her aide Sasikala and the entire 'Garden Coterie' that observers felt were interfering in areas that didn't concern them, was a bold move. Sasikala, of course,is back after an explanation. But the line between household and government and party, one hears, has been clearly drawn.

Contrary to common perception, Jayalalithaa can be quite courteous to the media. She is one political leader who, no matter what, will always wish you back, when you greet her. When she took over as Chief Minister for the first time in 1991, she started on a great note, in the absence of a real political opposition, requesting the media to play that role. But in course of time, the equation changed. In her second innings, about a hundred defamation cases were slapped against mediapersons but later withdrawn. Last year, as she drove in to Fort. St. George, her promise or rather "deal" with the media - of a weekly interaction, was music to all our ears. Sadly, it lasted just three weeks! But her PR Dept has been efficiently sending out press releases; something that doesn't help the electronic media adequately.

Politically, Jayalalithaa is on a strong wicket; with even the BJP cosying up to her. Not to speak of other regional parties. If the AIADMK manages to win about thirty seats in '201 whenever' Amma could well emerge as King Maker. I will never forget her smile and the response 'Thank You For The Compliment' when I asked her if she would like to be Prime Minister one day, given her experience and competence.

Now for the final score card! Keeping in mind the constraints it has had to work under and based on a dispassionate assessment, I'd give this Govt a First Class. I'd perhaps top that up to Distinction if I get that exclusive interview! Meanwhile, Congratulations, Amma!

By Word Of ‘Mouse’!

By Sanjay Pinto

Imagine the initial Cola war being fought in the social media age! Or for that matter, consumers buoyed by that old Doordarshan serial ‘Rajini’ and armed with twitter and facebook, taking on business establishments that seek to short change them. The power at your finger tips and the instant reach of your 140 character grouse or feedback is a different form of empowerment. It has made Corporate India sit up and take notice of tweets and wall posts that can go viral and spread much faster than the common cold. As after sales service is quite pathetic in the country, several international brands now claim to address consumer complaints through the social media. It could be a win-win for both sides. For the consumer, a simple sentence could end in redressal. For the company, a sort of brand building exercise and a bid to deflect negative feedback. However, if companies have such a facility, and don’t really solve issues, consumers could vote with their feet! A mobile phone manufacturer has been drawing flak for not even responding to complaints about defects in a few new models and instead just going overboard with promotional content. One wonders why they exist on such platforms. Silence is not eloquent. And tokenism can be quite counter productive.

At the start of the new financial year, many top notch companies  have stepped up their presence on the social media by signing up tech & media savvy individuals and firms with an annual retainer model. Some have even hired professionals to manage their social media, as part of the Corporate Communications department. Because the 'word of mouse' can supplement the  traditional advertising blitzkrieg. Ad gurus may soon have to reinvent the ‘deal’!

Alongside the common man and India Inc, the political class has also ‘invaded’ the social media. Unlike crowds at political rallies, an educated ‘follower’ of a politician does not need biriyani and booze to paddle ideology or indulge in online sycophancy by attacking opponents or those with a different point of view or simply retweeting – a classic ‘Follow The Leader’ game. While there are a few Chief Ministers who connect with people by tweeting on their development agenda, it’s refreshing to see the Prime Minister Of India on twitter. It’s probably the handiwork of his new Communications Advisor Pankaj Pachauri, who admittedly,  is himself attracting close to five hundred followers a week. @PMOIndia has about a lakh followers. Strangely, the PM only follows ten people or organisations like Sam Pitroda, UNICEF, the World Bank, the White House, the Russian President and the UK Prime Minister, among others!

But the medium can be a double edge sword as Abhishek Manu Singhvi learnt the hard way. The former Congress spokesperson and legal eagle may have got a court injunction against the mainstream media from publicising a sex video. But there was nothing to stop  people from uploading versions or copies on youtube and then posting those links in the social media.

The ‘do it yourself’ syndrome that I often come across on facebook is fascinating. A group in one of our metros called ‘Chennai Shopping’, started as a sort of hobby by a young corporate executive Sarah Natasha with a handful of shopoholics has, over a few months, leapfrogged to over eleven thousand members! A simple post like “where can I get good baking soda?” results in an avalanche of options in minutes. Everything from second hand jewellery to a year end garage sale pops up. The proof of its reach lies in status updates from business establishments. Here’s a whole new platform for free ads. And discounts for members too!

PMK: The Mango & Its Roots!

By Sanjay Pinto

The PMK that has been out in the political wilderness for a while,put up a show of strength at its Vanniyar Youth Festival in the tourist hotspot - Mahabalipuram. The party of former Union Health Minister Dr.Anbumani Ramadoss managed to rustle up a crowd of a few lakh Vanniyar youth as a sort of answer to Vijaykanth's DMDK party that eroded its vote base in both the 2009 Lok Sabha Poll, where Ramdoss' party drew a blank and the 2011 Assembly election where it managed to win just 3 out of the 30 seats it had wrenched from the DMK led alliance.

Although the PMK had all along insisted that it is not a party meant only for Vanniyars - a powerful community of traders concentrated in the Northern belt of Tamilnadu, recent electoral setbacks have forced it to go back to its  traditional vote base. At the Mahabalipuram gathering, party founder Dr.S.Ramadoss played to the Vanniar gallery by reviving old demands in a new meet! Reservation for Vanniyar Youth in education & employment, a series of protests between July & August, a fair caste based census and its pet prohibition call were the resolutions passed.

For more than a decade, the father-son doctor duo seemed to have had their finger on the pulse of winning alliances ; moving from one coalition to another, earning the party the nickname 'fence sitter'. But smarting from what the party called 'shabby treatment' by the two dravidian juggernauts, the PMK recently vowed to maintain a safe distance from both the AIADMK and the DMK. Does that ring a bell? That's just the sort of  detached innings 'Captain' Vijaykanth set out to play when he launched the DMDK. But the actor-politician who calls himself the 'Black MGR', realised his bread would be buttered by being in an alliance.Winning 29 seats in the assembly, many felt, was possible only because his party rode on the massive Jayalalithaa wave that swept Tamilnadu last year. The feat catapulted the action hero as the Opposition Leader; a role that soon made him a "villain" in the eyes of the ruling party and landed the DMDK out of the AIADMK led alliance!

Back to the PMK; these are tough times for Ramdoss & Co. The top brass is now mired in a criminal case in Tamilnadu. Anbumani too has been recently chargesheeted by the CBI in an Indore Medical College scam.However, in Tamilnadu, you just cannot write off any party. The PMK may not have won many seats but it does have its vote share among the Vanniars; not to forget women voters who identify with its anti alcohol crusade; which could tilt the scales in any close contest. One reason why the party, whose election symbol is the mango, is moving back to its roots. On the sidelines, there are soft targets like actor Vijay, whose film poster showing him smoking, are enough to stay in the news.

'Atmospheric' Pressure!

By Sanjay Pinto

It's not often that you fight medication induced drowsiness to hammer out a blog. But I've been provoked to write this as a few important aspects of the debate on transferring a case out of a State due to a "vitiated" atmosphere seem to have been overlooked.

When the Supreme Court  transferred  the Rajiv convicts mercy plea out of the Madras High Court today, on a petition filed by a Tamilnadu Congressman citing a "surcharged"  atmosphere in the State, I told myself "this is a hat trick !" A few years ago, Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets case was moved to Bengaluru on a petition by the DMK. The sensational Kanchipuram temple murder case in which the two Shankaracharyas are the prime accused was also transferred out of Tamilnadu to neighbouring Puducherry for "a free and fair" trial.

The fundamental difference here is that the Rajiv convicts case is not a trial. It is in fact a sort of super appeal; having passed through all the tiers of judicial wisdom; and beyond! After the Supreme Court awarded Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan the death penalty for a 'rarest of rare' murder; the trio appealed to the President for mercy. A plea that was rejected; and that gave rise to this fresh petition for commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground that an inordinate delay of 11 years amounted to cruelty. The claim is backed by a legal precedent in Triveniben Vs State of Gujarat (1989) where the Court had held  that undue delay in execution of the death sentence entitles the condemned prisoner under Article 32 of the Constitution to seek commutation. What the Madras High Court had to grapple with was an important Constitutional question on whether a delay in disposing off a mercy plea, given the facts and circumstances of the present case was a sufficient ground for clemency. The case involves no investigation, no examination of witnesses, no cross examination and no fresh forensic evidence that could be tampered with.

True, there was a crowd on the Madras High Court campus on the day of the hearing of the case. There were reports of  a judge who initially wasn't keen to hear the case. There were slogans shouted. And there was a resolution passed by the ruling party; another indication of the race to capture popular Tamil sentiment. By transferring the case out of the Madras High Court what is the message that the common man would probably get? That the judges here could have been influenced by the crowd? By a few slogans? By political posturing? I think judges are made of sterner stuff. Moreover, with the present comprehensive security system that is now in place in the Madras High Court, crowds can no longer gate crash. Which is why I personally feel the Supreme Court could have called for a report of the Registry of the Madras High Court - one of the oldest chartered courts in India. Even Courts should be entitled to the principle of natural justice!

I remember covering the first bail application of the Kanchi Shankaracharya in the Madras High Court many years ago. Here too, the firebrand Ram Jethmalani appeared for the petitioner. The matter came up before Justice Balasubramaniam on a Saturday morning. The court hall was jam packed with lawyers, Shankaracharya devotees and media persons jostling for space, some of us almost forced into a Nataraja pose! On the court campus, a violent clash erupted between a political outfit whose ideology centred around atheism and a section of Kanchi Mutt devotees. We were the only channel to have the action live. If there is Tamil sentiment involved in the Rajiv case, there were religious sentiments in the Shankaracharya bail plea. Despite the tension, none of the judges seemed ruffled. In fact the Seer got bail only after a few attempts. That's my point. There is a marked difference between a trial and an appellate procedure. A crowd and slogans can intimidate a witness, not judges. For that matter, in every high profile case, there is 'pressure' stemming from 'media trial'. We don't end up transferring cases because the atmosphere is not conducive.

 The Supreme Court's logic is understandable. As it is hearing a similar issue in the Davinderpal Singh Bhullar case, taking this case on file would make things easier. But that has effectively deprived the Tamilnadu petitioners of an extra appellate shot! Justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done. That lofty ideal can be meaningful only if we trust our courts enough - that they will be able to rise above pressure tactics. And for that matter, today's verdict must serve as a lesson to those who indulge in posturing. Sloganeering can be quite counter productive.