Rahul Gandhi with his head and torso hanging out of a police bus window was the defining and defiant image of the Opposition protest against the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi on Tuesday, 6 October.
Just as Priyanka Gandhi, lying on the road, surrounded by a crowd of police and Congress workers, was the TV image of Wednesday’s renewed Opposition protests in the capital.
But did the Rahul photograph correctly represent the I.N.D.I.A march of 19 Opposition parties to the Election Commission headquarters?
Most newspapers thought so. That photograph was on Page 1 of many English and Hindi dailies on 7 October. The Times of India chose differently: It went with a photograph of Rahul Gandhi standing astride police barricades, holding aloft the Indian national flag, during the march.
Patriotism versus defiance: You choose which symbolised the protest for you.
The two photographs were taken approximately eight hours apart. The flag picture was clicked at the peak of the march by the entire Opposition on Tuesday morning. The other was taken when Rahul Gandhi was finally detained at Akashvani Bhavan, the All India Radio headquarters, Tuesday night, along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Congress leaders.
What they reflect is the way the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, dominated the news media coverage of the Opposition’s stir against SIR.
The Opposition’s “show of strength”, as TV news channels like Times Now Navbharat called it, quickly became the Rahul and Priyanka show for the public.
No wonder it was called “Gandhigiri” by channels such as ABP News and News 24.
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When Gandhis elbowed out BJP, CJP
Tuesday belonged to the Gandhi siblings and the Opposition—in that order. TV news and YouTube news channels like DB (Deshbandhu Hindi news channel) reported live from the protest till late evening, while online newspaper websites and independent web portals constantly updated developments.
On Wednesday, an I.N.D.I.A lunch at Sagar Ratna restaurant in Delhi, followed by another protest where Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lay supine on the road, vied with coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years in public office.
“This is hooliganism by the Congress Party,” declared NDTV’s anchor. “There is no basis for this protest.”
Well, but this media exposure may help the Opposition’s campaign against Gyanesh Kumar, SIR and the ruling BJP. It certainly has helped them gain ownership of a cause that could otherwise be hijacked by the Cockroach Janta Party.
CJP is scheduled to hold its own protests against the Chief Election Commissioner on 10 October—and it has been receiving news coverage too. Its recent meeting in Mumbai was widely reported.
On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi had led “I.N.D.I.A onto the streets” (CNN-News18) for a “SIR-ous showdown” (Times Now’s half-successful pun) against “Vote Chori” and with demands for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
It all made for good TV drama, and news channels responded with up to eight cameras showing the march from different angles. With stirring headlines: “Opposition’s War” (NDTV India), “Battle on the streets” (Aaj Tak), “Opposition’s Warm Up” (Zee News), “Opposition v/s Gyanesh” (India TV), “Opposition’s Hallabol” (News Nation), and “The I.N.D.I.A march against ECI Gyanesh – Sansad to Sadak” (CNN-News18).
Someone should have thought of ordering a brass band—that’s all that was missing as the streets echoed with “Gyanesh Kumar chor hai…”
“It’s also about the pictures, isn’t it?” commented a CNN-News18 anchor. “It’s about being shown…”
Who could disagree? The Opposition had successfully elbowed out the BJP. A few Union ministers such as Kiren Rijiju and Shivraj Chauhan made statements on Rahul’s “anarchy”, but all eyes were on the man in the white T-shirt and beige cargo pants.
Sitting with the story
However, by late afternoon, we, the viewers, and they, the news media, were tiring of Rahul Gandhi’s “zid” as TNNB called it.
The Opposition leaders had been packed into buses, the “hallabol” had died down. The Gandhi siblings sneaked into the Akashvani Bhavan premises. News reports claimed that they had been detained, but we saw them seated under a tree. For seven hours and counting.
By the way, The Indian Express had the best description of how the Gandhis managed to avoid detention in a report headlined, “Delhi cops had protest under control, then Gandhis walked into All India Radio”.
It wrote that Rahul made a dash toward the bus Priyanka was already seated inside.
“As Rahul was about to get into the bus, the siblings locked eyes with each other. Priyanka got down and along with her brother, walked…towards Akashvani Bhavan,” the report read.
No AI can replace such amazing eye contact.
TV news cameras dutifully looked and found many angles of Rahul and Priyanka and their band of faithful Congress leaders conversing, laughing and staring at their mobile phones.
People showed up for selfies (NDTV, CNN-News18) and the Gandhis obliged. The sun shone bright, there was a gentle breeze—it was really quite pretty.
Pretty boring.
“What is Rahul Gandhi’s plan?” asked an NDTV India anchor.
“Why are they sitting there?” added the Times Now Navbharat anchor.
Nobody knew.
What they did know was that the Gandhis were there to stay.
“They’re not budging,” said an Aaj Tak reporter. “They want to meet the Chief Election Commissioner.”
Durrees appeared, along with food, mattresses, drinks. TMC’s Mahua Moitra and Derek O’Brien had joined in at some point.
“(Seem to be) getting ready for a long night,” said the Times Now anchor, trying to summon up some enthusiasm.
Suddenly, there was action. Priyanka was in the bus while Rahul struggled to avoid the many arms of the law.
Complete “commotion and chaos”, reported India Today.
Finally, somehow the LoP was inside the bus. Well, half inside and half outside as his head and torso stuck out of the window. It was a very odd sight.
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Nature calls, TV answers
The coverage of the march and Gandhi sit-in had its amusing moments, too.
Jaya Bachchan, actor and Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP, walked along serenely in her SP red topi. She was accosted by TV reporters all the time. Famous for her tart replies, she didn’t disappoint on this occasion either.
Asked by TV9 Bharatvarsh about her opposition to SIR, Bachchan said, “All of you ask the same question: If I wasn’t opposed to it, why would I be here?”
Once the action moved to the AIR headquarters, TV reporters, in the heat of the moment, continually referred to the venue as “Akashvani ka backside”.
And lastly, at one stage in the afternoon, Rahul Gandhi was seen in deep and serious conversation with other Congress leaders. Then, he strode away toward Akashvani Bhavan. “Is this an effort to disrupt AIR?” asked an agitated Republic TV anchor.
A TV9 Bharatvarsh reporter had a more prosaic explanation: “He is answering nature’s call, some people are saying,” he said.
The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)