SMS at the wrong time

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari unveiled the All India Radio (AIR) News free SMS service as well as the "Bharat Nirman" web portal with much fanfare earlier this week. During a question and answer session that ensued, Tewari insisted that journalists restrict their questions to specifically the "Bharat Nirman" portal and not digress. However Tewari's efforts came to naught. AIR News service's first SMS beeped into cell phones of reporters attending the event, pertained to the Muzaffarnagar riots and the DIG concerned being transferred. Reporters took their cue; quoting this SMS, they plied the minister with an unending list of questions about the riots, with hardly anyone querying the United Progressive Alliance's publicity campaign Bharat Nirman.