TV is obsessing over who takes the first shot — not just vaccine, but at farmers, Opposition

The coverage of the farmers’ protest has entered a new phase — demonisation.

A screen grab of Rpublic Bharat | YouTube

Never thought to see the day when a white carton would pose before cameras and be the lead feature of the day. But that is what’s happening on the ‘Countdown to the first shot’ on CNN News 18, as a large number of sealed boxes containing the C-vaccine are transported across the country — only surprised they weren’t welcomed with garlands!

In other big news this week, the protests against the Narendra Modi government’s three farm laws are now being framed as ‘Shaheen Bagh Part II’, and channels like Zee Hindustan are alarmed to find Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders ‘infested by Khalistanis’.

There is more. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is cantering home to an easy victory in the West Bengal assembly elections later this summer, at least on news channels.

Oh, speaking of victory, India scored a memorable one, in a manner of speaking, by holding Australia to an unlikely draw in the Sydney cricket Test — after ages, our heroes in white were back on prime time with the likes of Kapil Dev (ABP), Harbhajan Singh (Aaj Tak) and Sunil Gavaskar (India Today) applauding them loudly.

The first shot in the arm of the coronavirus vaccine on 16 January is a mere two days away and the boxes carrying the precious vials are being treated like the crown jewels by reporters who reverentially tracked their journey from Pune’s Serum Institute of India to cities across the country.

In the studios, anchors hastily boned up on the subject and described each step of the way — none better than India Today’s Preeti Chowdhary who went phase by phase right up to AEFI aka Adverse Event Following Immunisation.

However, since ‘Jab We Met the Jab’ will anyway play out in the coming days, back to the other two top stories of the week.

Demonise protesters, on TV

The coverage of the farmers’ protests has entered a new phase — demonisation. As the farmers remain stubbornly steadfast in their demand that the three farm laws be repealed, and refuse to accept the Supreme Court-formed committee to mediate between the protesters and the Modi government, the news channels have shifted from sympathy to a weary exasperation — “End this stalemate”, pleaded Times Now.

Worse, the crowds at Tikri, Singu and Ghazipur borders are “goondas” and “Khalistanis” (Zee News). India TV said the stir would continue because the ‘remote control’ was manned by the Opposition — ‘Left-Cong ki Jugalbandi’; CNN News 18 detected “external agencies at work”. Republic TV refused to be held “hostage” any longer as anchor Arnab Goswami Tuesday urged viewers to “take them on”. In fact, NDTV India is the only channel still enticed by the farmers’ protests, to say nothing of the langar — on Monday, its reporter was tasting delectable toasties at the Singhu border.

Zee News and Zee Hindustan are leading the charge against the protesters. Its reporters at Delhi’s borders continually find evidence of ‘anti-national activity’ — a tractor sporting a Khalistani sticker for instance. Since November, its reporters claim, the channel has been alerting the world about their presence. Now, it claims it has discovered that the blueprint for the protests comes from Shaheen Bagh.

There are also darkling suggestions by its anchors that disruptions to the 26 January parade will be inspired by last year’s protests in Delhi, when US President Donald Trump visited (Zee News) — although the siege of Capitol Hill by Trump supporters is perhaps a more appropriate comparison.

All of which has led farm leader Rakesh Tikait to make the outrageous claim that the government has a plan ready to use force that will result in the death of many protesters (Aaj Tak).

Obviously, no one knows what will happen next, but it’s beginning to look scary out there now.

TV channels ‘rallying’ in Bengal

Onto Bengal. The assembly election is still months away but the battle is being fought in right earnest — particularly on news channels. Oddly, the Hindi news channels, normally rather indifferent to polls in non-Hindi speaking states, are taking a keen interest in Bengal — the visits by Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda, covered extensively, may have spurred them on.

News channels sense an upset victory by the BJP, hence their coverage is already leaning to the Right. And so they have Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress very much on the back foot – when the CM announced Sunday free vaccines for all, it was called out as ‘TMC’s duplicity’ and a poll gimmick (India Today), recalling her criticism of the BJP for the same promise during the Bihar polls.

When the BJP goes all religious and coins the slogan ‘Jai Kali Ma’, channels see it as a clever appeal to the Bengali psyche (India TV, Aaj Tak). But they are offended by TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee’s remark on Sita being glad she was abducted by Ravana and not by his “chelas” — Aaj Tak’s anchor wanted to know if Banerjee’s remark was not ‘galat’ while Zee News asked, ‘Muslim vote ke liye Hindu chot (politics on Hindu faith)?’

News channels applaud the BJP for its attacking strategy — sending top leaders to the state and getting top TMC leaders to join the BJP (‘Bengal Battle gets bigger’, Republic TV). They cover every BJP rally in the state, the latest being in memory of Swami Vivekananda (Tuesday) but if the TMC held one, we didn’t notice. So Mamata is not battling the BJP and other parties alone: she has the media to contend with too.

As we leave, the headlines suggest a war on vaccines — ‘PM puts India first – Politics peak over vaccine – Opposition targets PM Modi’ (CNN News 18). It’s all about who will take the first shot.

Views are personal.