Indian Media Sore At Missing The Party

HOW ABOUT paying a State visit to the largest democracy as the Head of the oldest democracy and not interacting with its media? Sounds ridiculous. But that is precisely what President Bill Clinton will be doing during his trip.

Except for a demoralisingly brief question and answer session around 1 pm on March 21 in Hyderabad House, after an undisclosed number of agreements and documents are signed, the visit will only be covered by the Indian media through official briefings, Press releases and copies of speeches, delivered with the

customary admonition, check against delivery". In contrast, the White House Press Corps, said to be the chastest Brahmins of them all, will be witnessing and reporting the visit at first hand the only professionally acceptable form of covering such events.

 

Besides, all American news agencies, newspapers, TV and radio correspondents and photographers will enjoy the benefits of the US official briefings held in India.

At the initial stage, one had heard that President Clinton would be addressing a Press conference in New Delhi to which everybody from the media would be welcome exactly what the leader of the greatest and oldest democracy should have done. One recalls the photograph (now on display in an exhibition on Indo-US relations) showing then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao addressing a Press conference in Washington accompanied by President Clinton. One also remembers then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's justly famous Press conference at the National Press Club in Washington.

Reliably sourced reports say that the idea of holding a Press conference was dropped because the White House mandarins decided that it would be impolite and politically unwise to expose Clinton to

the media, what with the unabated US media speculations on First Lady Hillary Clinton's role in the decision to stop over in Pakistan.

It was only yesterday that External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh took justifiable pride in pointing out that President Clinton would be the third President to visit India in the first three months of 2000. The first two were President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia. While President Obasanjo interacted with a select group of Indian mediapersons over breakfast and gave a TV interview, President Wahid addressed a one-hour Press conference.

And as the External Affairs Ministry doesn't tire of pointing out, the Indo-French dialogue now in full swing began with President Jacques Chirac's Jan 1998 visit, which ended with a high-profile and newsy Press conference. As a Ministry official was reeling off Clinton's itinerary the other day, there were groans all around because each event was characterised as a photo opportunity (where only lensmen would be allowed and therefore no questions to be asked).

The only exception turns out to be the 1 pm signing ceremony at Hyderabad House on March 21, where 350-400 mediapersons will be jostling with each other not so much to ask questions as to catch what the President and the Prime Minister will be saying in response to the lucky few who will be able to get across their questions.

For, as the official commented, quite prophetically it may be: We expect some questions to be taken by the President and the Prime Minister. Some comedown surely, when reckoned against the hype.