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Why Gen VK Singh needs to take a Twitter holiday

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Sidharth Bhatia
Sidharth BhatiaApr 09, 2015 | 11:27

Why Gen VK Singh needs to take a Twitter holiday

Regulars on Twitter are fully aware of the vast numbers of malcontents who get their thrills by hurling abuse, often for no reason. Racism, sexism, obscenities, threats — it’s the Wild West out there. For some reason, journalists are favourite targets.

In the last few months I have been called pimp, agent, news-trader, sickular and many more charming epithets by the trolls who don’t like my views. For some reason they all belong to the same political persuasion. One learns to develop a thick skin and in worse cases, use the "block" button.

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But what happens when a government minister and a former General no less, abuses journalists on Twitter? Then it is no longer a matter one can shrug away. This reflects an institutional point of view, since General VK Singh, author of a nasty tweet, is a senior member of the government that is running the country. “Friends what do you expect from presstitutes” said the good General, after an earlier statement of his in Djibouti raised eyebrows. Just when he and the government were coming in for praise for the evacuation of hundreds of Indians stuck in Yemen, Gen Singh said that visiting the Pakistani High Commission was more exciting than the rescue operations in Yemen. If he was being sarcastic about the media’s approach to the two stories, then the joke fell flat. In any case, he could and should have let it go — the use of a word like presstitutes suits the trolls better than a dignified minister or army chief. Is he trying to imply that journalists sell their stories to anyone who will pay? If so, it is grossly offensive, not to say completely false.

Media bashing is a regular pastime for many and politicians seem to particularly enjoy it. No problem with that. They often also blame the media for misquoting, either unintentionally or deliberately.

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That too journalists learn to take in their stride, despite the fact that in this day and age of video evidence, a claim of being misquoted does not hold up. The citizenry is not fooled — it can make out who is being economical with the truth. An adversarial relationship between the establishment and the political class in general with the media is generally healthy for a democracy.

But blaming the messenger for every lapse will not work. General Singh had earlier said the "P" word was appropriate for the Indian Express. Meenakshi Lekhi, who recently tweeted about smelling a rat in the controversy after Smriti Irani said Fabindia CCTVs were aimed at the dressing room, quickly clarified she was blaming the media and not the minister. This tendency is not limited to the ruling dispensation, but of late, most of the attacks have come from that direction.

General Singh’s tweet is particularly obnoxious. He holds high office and by stooping so low, he has demeaned that high office. The best thing he can do is to apologise to journalists and then also take a holiday from tweeting for a while.

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Last updated: April 09, 2015 | 11:27
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