Saif Ali Khan experiences a pain in the chest and the news channels feel his pain so acutely, they get short of breath reporting on his condition. The Samjhauta Express experiences fatal injuries after a possible terrorist attack, and the news channels bring us the charred remains in such tangible form you almost taste the warm ashes. And remember the Godhra sensationalism? Of course. Intentional? Maybe. Fair? Of course — not. Can a pain, experienced by even Manmohan Singh or Amitabh Bachchan, ever compare with a fatality, let alone more than 65?

Okay: what’s wrong with an on-the-spot exit poll when politicians campaign while voting is in progress? Last Tuesday, on election day in Punjab, we visited the state at lunch time. On NDTV 24x7, we met SAD’s Parkash Singh Badal after he had cast his ballot. He claimed his party would win three-fourths of the seats in the Assembly and went on to condemn the sitting Congress government for every conceivable problem. Simultaneously, on CNN-IBN, CM Amarinder Singh declared, “I have no failures” and enumerated his achievements.

If this is not free campaigning, what is?

Politicians are not shy of exaggerated claims, either. Exit polls on Star, NDTV and CNN-IBN predicted a neck-to-neck in Punjab, so why boast, as Badal did on TV, of a resounding victory? By the way, it was wonderful to watch Dorab Sopariwalla who made a welcome return to NDTV’s poll fortune-telling team.

Should we welcome or bemoan the resurrection of Dean Jones, “terrorist” cricketer? He was an expert analyst on Neo Sports’ coverage of the India-Sri Lanka matches. Mistakenly, we believed he had been excommunicated from television because of his “racist” remarks against South African Muslim player Hashim Amla. Jade Goody, there’s hope for you yet.

... contd.