The decision of the Aam Aadmi Party government to monitor news channels might have come as a surprise for many, but a few years ago, a similar idea was mooted by the Sheila Dikshit government.
But, the idea was dropped after serious consideration, largely due to the logistics involved in the process and resource crunch.
“TV drives news through the day. So it was considered important to keep a tab. However, with so many news channels having proliferated over the past few years, one needs to set up an exclusive team to follow and document everything going on air all day long. It’s easier to sort out the related developments in print. Even a small team can scan and make a file of paper cuttings within a few hours. Therefore, the idea was shelved after being discussed at the highest levels,” an official said.
Not only farmers, but even mediapersons failed to take note of Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay’s attempts to gain political mileage by holding Gramin Mahasampark Pravas, a rural contact mission, demanding timely compensation for farmers last week.
Sources in the party said the initiative yielded lukewarm response from the farmers.
The media hardly covered the event despite the fact that in an unprecedented move, the PR department of the Delhi BJP kept informing the journalists that vehicles were ready at the party office to take them to the different venues for the two-day event.
