20

Jul

Who takes I and B Minister seriously?

image

It’s ironic that one day Anurag Thakur, Minister for Information and Broadcasting makes a grandiose announcement that from this year the Over the Top (OTT) or films that can be watched at home on the internet at home would be included in the IFFI at Goa in November and a day earlier he warned producers to be careful with the content of the shows they are presenting.

It is clear that with Filmfare opening up categories of OTT films for its annual awards the I and B Ministry could not afford to be left out.

But he has warned them not to propagate vulgarity, abuse and propaganda in the name of “Creative expression” …they should be sensitive to our cultural diversity.”

All very noble sentiments.

But does he really mean it? Seriously?

Does anyone take a part-time minister seriously? As we saw last month Thakur was ‘negotiating’ with women wrestlers protesting against sexual harassment by the WFI Chief Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, the poster boy of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh as he is a six term MP and has won his seat both on BJP and Samajwadi Party Tickets.

There have been six I and B Ministers during the nine years of the Modi government including Prakash Jadvekar in 2014, Venkaiah Naidu in 2016,Smriti Irani in 2017, Rajyavardhan Rathore in 2018, Jadvekar again in 2019 and the current incumbent Anurag Thakur in 2021.

When the Prime Minister himself takes the I and B Ministry slot as musical chairs how will other sections of society take him seriously?

People remember him more for his ‘Goli Maro Salon Ko’ sloga  during the 2000 riots in North Delhi for which he has neither been pulled up by the party or the Election Commission.

Looking at the way this Ministry dealing with the Fourth Estate is being treated it would be interesting to recall that the first I and B Minister of free India was Sardar Patel who was also the Home Minister of independent India.

There have also been heavyweights of the BJP to adorn this portfolio including L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj,Ravi Shankar Prasad, Arun Jaitley and even Atal Behari Vajpayee for a short stint.

Looking after the interests and welfare of the media, the implementation of the wage board by newspapers, their safety while performing their duties were concerns that the I and B Ministers took up as their responsibility.

The illustrious list includes names like Indira Gandhi and I K Gujaral who went on to become Prime Ministers.

Then there were V C Shukla, V N Gadgil, Vasant Sathe, H K L Bhagat who had a voice of their own.

As world statistics keep reminding us, India has been constantly sliding down the press freedom index in recent years and not a word from the Ministers who head the Ministry.

Their job is restricted to releasing the annual calendar and he booklet on Maan Ki Baat prepared by the PIB.

Instead of expressing concern on tragic murders of journalists like Gauri Lankesh and arrest of journalists for doing their duty in Uttar Pradesh put in jail under UAPA, Thakur is talking about issues for which they have the CBFC headed by their own man Prasoon Joshi.

Amitabh Srivastava

  • Share:

About Us

We must explain to you how all seds this mistakens idea off denouncing pleasures and praising pain was born and I will give you a completed accounts..

Contact Us

Contact Info

  • 70, Gyan Khand- 4, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. Uttar Pradesh.
  • +91-9810533682
  • info@mediamap.co.in
  • Week Days: 09.00 to 18.00 Sunday: Closed