The Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gag order on ruling party legislators may be aimed to serve or save his party’s image but it is commonsensical enough for everyone in public life. Too many ruling party members have been struck by the foot-in-the-mouth disease to such an extent as to sully not only their party’s image but also that of the country itself. For instance, the comment saying “brouhaha should not be made over one or two rapes in a big country like India” by the Union minister of labour could go as far as to smear the country’s image at a time when crimes against women constitute the hottest topic in the public domain, internationally too. The PM’s assessment that his legislators are providing “masala” to the media is not far from the truth as they seem somewhat overeager to respond to queries on every topic without seeming to give any matter deep thought.
The problem is the ruling party members are the ones more likely to fall to the seductive presence of the electronic media microphone that beats a path to their door every day. Not everyone is eligible to orchestrate events and interviews that the top political leaders of the country manage. The responsibility then is theirs but they seem unaware of the possible consequences of speaking without thinking. For instance, the existence of the Internet in the time of the Mahabharata may sound silly when uttered by anyone. However, such bizarre theories gain currency when legislators air them and, appropriately enough, they invite ridicule while not a pip is heard from a few motormouths who have been out of power for a while now. The PM’s acceptance that the media is not to blame for all this makes sense too because too often shooting the messenger has been the approach of most politicians. The realisation that all this is their creation should be a good beginning for the reappearance of commonsense.
