If Chandrababu Has No Scruples, Has The Media Lost Theirs?

By Sadhana Seelam

I read with some interest, newslines that talked of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s impending meeting with Rahul Gandhi, the Congress Chief, who Chandrababu was supposedly virulently opposed to, just as recently as the last general election. It is of course widely known that in that last election, Chandrababu had turned on his charm for Modi and the BJP, which he now claims is his nemesis.

When I studied journalism as an undergrad in India, we were exhorted to adhere to the five fundamental principles of reporting; truth/facts, independence, impartiality, fairness and accountability.

It appears that national newspapers, staples our parents allowed us to read when we were young have forsaken these tenets. Or, they have clearly fallen prey to persuasions by Chandrababu Naidu (CBN), and the machinations of TDP as it relates to covering the news in this region. The tremendous ease with which fake news is flourishing through WhatsApp and other social media networks leaves one in despair that truth has become the biggest casualty. This is the time for national news organizations to step up and insist on clarity and accountability.

Undermining facts is like undermining democracy—it’s like siding with the British during India’s struggle for independence in order to curry dubious favors: there is no difference. Betrayal of the truth is betrayal of all Indians. If the Press turns a blind eye to secure a full investigation into the attack on YS Jagan, it is divesting itself of its core principles. If the Press continues to gloss over CBN’s charlatan dealings with national political parties at the expense of the people of his state and if the national media refuses to persist in their quest for a full and immediate inquiry, our democracy has surely failed us.

The Press should cover politics, not be political. This is coming at the cost of our humanity and what makes us proud to be Telugu and Indian; this strikes at the core of all that we believe in and stand for.

We have a right to a full, thorough and impartial investigation into what happened to YS Jagan and more importantly, why it happened. The government has an outstanding obligation to deliver on that premise, failing which, the Press has to pick up the tab on telling it like it is.

Also Read: You Can’t Spin Everything Mr. Naidu

The author is a US-based columnist.