Media savvy, Congress' cheerful (not cheer) lady and frequently like to broadcast on news channels, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni (Ambika aunty) on Wednesday criticised media (either criticize media or criticize RSS… ha ha ha) for dragging Congress President Sonia Gandhi (Madamji) and AICC General Secretary and Madamji intelligent son Rahul Gandhi (Rahul Baba), in controversial land acquisition row.
Various farmers residing in the villages near Gurgaon on Tuesday applied for a petition to the High Court at Chandigarh, stating that their lands had been forcibly acquired for a meager amount of money by the state government to favor the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust floated by the Gandhi family (what Madamji such a kind of inexpensive not cheap fraud).
Various media reports revealed Madamji, Rahul Baba and Priyanka memsaab were its trustees.
Aunty said that it was in discretionary on the part of media to sensationalize the name of the Gandhi family (is it really required?), in order to increase the Television Rating Points (TRP's) of their respective channels, without scrutinizing facts and figures. DCFC has noted interesting point from IB Minister Ambika aunty that media is not even under control of the ruling party. But was it aunty's frustration or her interest to further probe into matters that media sensationalize against Gandhi family will have to see. DCFC reporter is started digging into it so that it can come with proper news to its readers.
However, interestingly Anna Hazare can include one clause to its Lokpal Bill that a minister should be more focused towards his/her work rather than become a supplementary to a particular family. When DCFC reporter asked auntyjee's supporter, she said "Ambikajee feels she is at the IB Ministry's level was just because of Madamjee and she wanted to repay in some way."
"The way you (mediapersons) have used the names of Gandhi family and their photographs more than the name of the trust (ha ha ha… again a funny statement, it's a family trust still she feels that giving Rajiv Gandhi's photo was much proper thing), for making and sensationalizing your stories, it is not fair at all," she added. Interestingly, she didn't deny the fact that trust was involved in land acquisition.
Clarifying all speculations over the dubious land deals, aunty said that the land was acquired for purposes of social service (?) and the deal was completely legal.
"Haryana, where there is less facility available for eye care, there they had appealed to a village council in writing that some land should be allotted to them. So, they were given five acres of the land, which can be given by village council legally, with their full consent. It was only five acres (?); at some places they have been showing 500 acres or 800 acres. It is quite possible that the then village head might have changed, as I am talking about an incident that occurred two years back (?)," she said.
Aunty used usual Brahmastra on Bharatiya Janata party for unnecessary blowing up the Gurgaon land scam issue and instead asked them to keep a check on their own candidate, former Karnataka chief minister B. S. Yeddyurappa (Yeddy Appa), who recently resigned after he was indicted in an illegal mining scam.
"It is not that only we have accused Appa today but one Lokayukta's thousand pages report has indicted him and his ministers. Even today, his party high command is not able to control or do anything about him. Last night, I also saw that Appa has said that he would come back within six months (Auntyjee once a politician lost he is always lost, I think you know this funda of politics). This shows that he is not afraid of law (yea even media is not afraid of you)," she said.
Villagers in Haryana
"The land is worth Rs50Cr, but they have paid only Rs15Lakh to the village council account. So is it ethical to give only Rs15Lakh for the land that is worth Rs50Cr? It is like almost paying nothing. They should have at least given the market rates for the land," said Narayan Singh, another villager.
"When Rahul Baba and Manji have said this everywhere that farmers would be given the market rates for their lands, then why are they not giving the due sum?" he asked. 