NEW DELHI: Sanjay Singh suddenly went off Doordarshan and All India Radio completely. And thereby hung a tale of government in panic.

Until Friday evening, the regular news bulletins of TV and radio were carrying reports on the condition of the Janata Dal candidate who was shot on Wednesday. On Wednesday night TV reported the news rarely almost in passing but on Thursday there were visuals of the hospital and interview with his doctor in a report on his condition.

That irked the powers that be who as the clichegoes, “swung into action”. On Friday evening the Directors of News of both AIR and Doordashan disappeared from the newsroom. When they retuned an hour later panic instructions were given to with draw all items pertaining to Sanjay Singh. The latest bulletin on his health was already in the AIR news pool but it was withdrawn following written instructions to do so. Doordarshan had mean while received visuals from Luck now showing Sanjay Singh con scious in his hospital bed. They had also received from their correspondent another interview with his doctor. All this was not used.

 

The panic among top officials of the Government of India on San jay Singh is because of the adverse effect they fear these items might have on a repoll in Amethi. This has made life very uncomfortable for people at all levels in TV and Radio who say that there has been a definite return of preelection censorship. Staffers says that an invisible hand, reminiscent of the Emergency is administering thre ats and wielding the stick again. Senior officials have in the last few days been threatened with dire consequences if they do not carry whatever they are told to carry, and black out whatever they are told to black out.

Troubles galore

As if Sanjay Singh’s shooting was not enough of an irritation for a government trying to control the damage when news came of the shots fired at Mr. V.P. Singh in Fatehpur. Immediately there were special instructions again for those manning the news desk. No men tion of the shots and indeed, no mention of Mr. V.P. Singh.

But the government wanted some other news carried even if it seemed dubious. According to newsroom staffers there was pres sure from their newsroom bosses to ensure that Doordarshan car ried Mr. Priya Ranjan Das Mun shi’s assertion that bombs were hurled at him. This item was taken on Friday night. And after Sanjay ‘Singh’s shooting on Wednesday, there was constant pressure to ensure that a statement by a Con gress politician of that area was used which said in effect that San jay Singh had instigated the attack because the backward classes had voted in large numbers for the PM. The statement was not carried.

Friday night’s news on Doordarshan was amusing in its selective reporting. Nothing on the shots fired at V.P. Singh but items on both Priya Ranjan Das Munshi’s and on Union Minister of State for Coal, Mr. C.K. Jaffar Sharieff, “escaping unhurt when he tried to intervene in clashes between two groups.”

Meanwhile the news of the shooting at Fatehpur on Friday which AIR and Doordarshan blacked out was carried on the BBC world service on Friday at 7:30 pm and by Independent Television News at 10 pm on Friday night in England. The latter showed footage of the shooting because as ITN correspondent was traveling with V.P. Singh when the incident occurred. Complete demoralization

In their general panic the Prime Minister’s men have taken to abusing people in AIR and Doodar shan foully, over the telephone. In mid-November R.K. Dhawan screamed at top officials of the Ministry of Information and Broad casting after a constituency profile was carried on Doordarshan which he said the Prime Minister was furious about, The officials later discovered that the Prime Minister had been traveling and had not even seen it.

And shortly after elections were announced, but just before nominations opened, Mr. Mani Shan kar Aiyar wanting a particular portion of the Prime Minister’s speech carried on Doodarshan shouted and abused a man in the Doordarshan newsroom so mercilessly that he was reduced to tears in front of his colleagues.

Maneka wins PILIBHIT: Maneka Gandhi widow of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s younger brother Sanjay of Janata Dal has been declared elected from the Pilibhit parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 1, 1989