Meghnad Desai loves to cook, watch and write about old Bollywood movies and shuttles between London, Delhi and Goa. He pursues controversies on economics, history and anything else which catches his attention. He is also a British parliamentarian sitting in the House of Lords. He has written over 25 books, over 200 articles in learned journals and hundreds of newspaper columns in UK and India
Out of my mind: A new game
By giving interview to ANI, PM Modi also ensured that all the channels carried it simultaneously and each carried on analysis for the rest of the evening. A press conference would not have been carried that extensively.
The new year started with a bang. A talking Prime Minister taking questions, giving long answers and holding forth for 90 minutes! Those who complained that he does not talk to the media had to find new grounds for criticism: Only one interviewer. Questions no doubt cleared in advance. Too much about Me, My and I.
But then if you ask a Prime Minister about matters of State, he can hardly use third person singular. If Modi had said, “That was not me. That was my Cabinet colleague”, howls of protest would have resulted. The central issue of the interview was the Prime Minister as he is of the forthcoming election. Indeed there has been no other issue occupying the Opposition.
So the manner in which Modi responded could hardly be a surprise. By giving interview to ANI, he also ensured that all the channels carried it simultaneously and each carried on analysis for the rest of the evening. A press conference would not have been carried that extensively. If nothing else, the Prime Minister understands how to get TRPs.
There were surprises. He did unequivocally denounce lynchings. He showed real passion speaking about his worries in the morning after the surgical strikes. But above all, the surprise was that the interview happened at all. It may presage a different approach by the Prime Minister to politics in the next few months. Thus, he knows that he will have to be accommodating to his NDA allies. He cannot do the emollient act but he can be patient, as he is being with the Shiv Sena. This may mean approaches to new allies such as the TRS. It may mean more press encounters. It will mean wrong-footing the Opposition, which has made Modi the sole issue
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