Tehelka Part-II

THE government is inquiring into what it considers Pakistan TV’s (PTV) sting operation: televising a private breakfast get-together between Pervez Musharraf and leading Indian editors. An international newsagency commented caustically that Musharraf had the lions of the Indian media purring like cats over him. Some of the big names present would not have been quite so fawning or self important in analysing Indo-Pakistan relations if they had known they would be featuring in a breakfast show telecast internationally.

Since there were no blinding flood lights and PTV used a small digital camera mounted on a tripod placed unobtrusively in one corner, most of the invitees simply assumed that a few visuals of the meet were being shot. They had no idea that the microphone in front of each speaker was linked to the audio camera and everything they said was being recorded.

NDTV’s Prannoy Roy with his television background realised what was happening and scenting a scoop persuaded the PTV cameraman to allow him to use his master tape. Whether by accident or design, Star TV telecast the entire proceedings before PTV, so that the Pakistani channel had to download from Star and carry the footage with the announcement ‘‘a Star exclusive.’’ The Pakistanis though obviously thrilled are now claiming piously that they planned to carry extracts of the Musharraf meet only after the general returned to Pakistan so that they cannot be accused to violating the summit etiquette. An immediate fall-out of the affair is that VSNL has cut off NDTV’s cable line outside Parliament House.

Noblesse disoblige

SONIA Gandhi looked rather grim at the lunch hosted by the prime minister for Pervez Musharraf. Neither Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel nor Principal Secretary to the PM Brajesh Mishra who were her immediate neighbours had much to say. It was left to maverick Pakistani journalist Ardeshir Cowasjee to keep the conversation going. Cowasjee, an irreverent and elderly Parsi has survived in dictatorial Pakistan because he also happens to be a wealthy shipping magnate. Cowasjee inquired playfully of Sonia why she never smiled. She obliged briefly and the irrepressible Cowasjee commented, ‘‘That’s so much better. We can see your dimples.’’ But Cowasjee was pushing his luck when he asked Sonia if he could kiss her on the cheek while bidding her goodbye. Sonia grimaced and instantly moved backward, astounded by his impertinence.

Too many cooks, bad broth

INDIA’S PR disaster at Agra is largely because no single person was in charge. While Musharraf’s aide Rashid Qureshi did an excellent job of selling the Pakistani viewpoint to the Indian media, even claiming audaciously that the Indians had changed their stand because of an ‘‘invisible hand’’, there was deafening silence from the Indian side. Brajesh Mishra adopted an uncharacteristically low profile and his usual behind-the-scene briefings were sorely missed. The official spokesperson was new to her job and was not given instructions by Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh who pompously claimed the moral high ground because India was maintaining confidentiality of the talks.

Before the summit, several ministers from the NDA such as Sushma Swaraj, Pramod Mahajan, Arun Jaitley and Nitish Kumar were briefed by MEA officials about the main issues. After Swaraj was targeted by the Pakistanis she was preoccupied in Agra defending herself, since the MEA did not come immediately to her rescue. The other non-official spokespersons in Delhi were intimidated by her plight and spoke cautiously for fear they too would be accused of stepping beyond their brief. In the bargain, no one made an issue of the obvious Pakistani violations of diplomatic niceties while on Indian soil.

In-laws and outlaws

CHIEF Minister J. Jayalalitha has arrested four IAS officers and one DGP so far and fearful of just what she might do next, two former chief secretaries of Tamil Nadu and three former DGPs have sought anticipatory bail. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Vajpayee has personally cleared the file assigning NSG guards to protect former chief minister M Karunanidhi in case Jayalalitha tries to have him picked him up once again in the middle of the night.

In a tit for tat, after New Delhi’s emissary George Fernandes returned from Chennai the law ministry revived the case against AIADMK MP and former minister T.M. Selvanganapathi. Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran has cancelled the appointment of Ilangovan, son-in-law of the municipal commissioner of Chennai as regional director of the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation. After all, his father-in-law had registered the case against Karunanidhi in the flyover scam.

Akbarnama

ASIAN Age editor M.J. Akbar was caught off guard at the Musharraf breakfast meet. He remarked that though he had been appearing on the DD channel for the last two days, nobody was watching the channel. DD officials were furious when they heard his candid comment on television and instructed that Akbar should not be invited again on the national channel during on the summit. But since the right hand of DD does not know what the left hand’s doing, a DD journalist got a long sound byte of Akbar’s views on the talks just a short while after the fiat.

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