Charan Preet Singh

Political Consultant
Policy, governance & electoral strategy.

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

@sharadsharma badge of honor

[Amit Malviya @amitmalviya]

There is a lot of chatter about sections of the media in the aftermath of the recent protest at Jantar Mantar. It has become almost fashionable to dismiss any journalist or media house one disagrees with as “godi media.” What happened to some journalists at the protest was unacceptable. A few were targeted, and women journalists, in particular, were subjected to vile sexual abuse. There can be no justification for that.

At the same time, it is equally evident that another section of the media was treated as part of the spectacle rather than as independent observers. They appeared to enjoy the confidence of the protesters while others were branded and abused. If one set is labelled “godi” for allegedly being close to those in power, what label applies to those perceived to be aligned with the organisers or a political ecosystem?

This selective outrage is hardly new. Long before 2014, there was an influential circle of journalists widely seen as enjoying extraordinary access to the Congress leadership. Over the years, the names and platforms may have changed, but the ecosystem, incentives and alignments have remained familiar. Some moved from television to YouTube, others reinvented themselves as independent voices, but the underlying partisanship often remained intact.

Perhaps it is time to stop reducing every journalist to a political label simply because they hold a different worldview. If media independence is the standard, it should apply consistently to everyone, not just those one happens to disagree with.

Incidentally, someone sent me the picture below. What do you think is the common thread between the people in it? And who else do you think belongs in the frame, or doesn’t?

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

Market mein naya influencer Aya hai!

Raat mein jaagta hai, din mein literally sota hai.

[Jagtar Singh @jagtar201]

Nihangs should immediately withdraw from Protest sites in Delhi.

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

@jagtar201 Absolutely.
Immediately.

[The DeshBhakt 🇮🇳 Akash Banerjee @TheDeshBhakt]

🚨Serious allegations by Uttarakhand Police constable Sher Singh.
🚨Leaked question papers are available at grocery stores! The rot is THAT DEEP!? His public resignation from the police force should worry PM Modi.
🚨Not all men in khakhi want the blood of students on their hands.

[ravish kumar @ravish_journo]

आंदोलन को रोकने के लिए मेट्रो बंद करना बैड आइडिया है। इससे लोग कार चलाएँगे और E20 को लेकर आंदोलन होने लगेगा।

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

झोला उठाने का समय आने वाला है !

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

@HelleLyngSvends You meant a picnic party ?

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

@Oye_Jahazi Weakest!
12 years and counting. We’ll get to see more of this till 2029! And it’ll be a full stop then.

[Saurabh Bharadwaj @Saurabh_MLAgk]

आदमी ठीक नहीं है ,
बात ठीक कर रहा है,
इसलिए शेयर कर रहा हूँ ।

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

At his weakest!

@Cockroachisback @CJP_for_India
@abhijeet_dipke

[Narendra Modi @narendramodi]

More strict actions against paper leaks to come in tomorrow’s Cabinet!

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

People need a platform to express their feelings. You might not be able to address their concerns but listening is important. Letting them speak is what gives them confidence and calmness.

The government must learn it from this story. It’ll help them surviving till 2029!

[Harshdeep Rapal @harshdeeprapal]

Hearing out Gen Z.

My father's caretaker is a 24 year old guy. Hails from Kanpur. He has done BSc Nursing and we have hired him through an agency that provides elder-care professionals at home.

Spends 12 hours at our home (8 am to 8 pm), rarely takes a leave. A very diligent guy, soft-spoken, well-read (keeps reading books from my collection) and speaks pretty fluent English.

On the morning of 20th July, he calls up and says he is not feeling well. On 21st he came, was limping a bit. Did not share what happened.

Yesterday he shared with dad that he told a lie. On 20th he had gone to Jantar-Mantar for supporting the students' protest and was hit by the police truncheon during lathi-charge. While running, lost his shoe and twisted his ankle.

Last night when I went home and was having dinner, dad told me about this. Today morning when he came I talked to him and realized what 'generation(al) gap' means.

While talking to him I realized, he was 9-10 when Anna Andolan happened. He was 10-11 when Arvind Kejriwal became the CM for the first time. He was 11-12 when BJP formed the government in 2014. The NEET aspirants are even younger than him. They were toddlers 12 years ago.

Some of the things we have lived through, are alien to him. All he has seen since he started experiencing the world is the current government and Modi as the PM. So for him, everything that he and his generation is been through in last 7-8 years since he 'grew up' - the responsibility lies with the current government.

He mentioned that there are 1000s of youngsters who have travelled from as far as Lucknow and Varanasi for these protests.

Again on being asked why? Why did he and his friends join the protest? Why these students have come so far to join the protests?

NEET exam leak was the last thing on his mind. The reasons he gave were - everything becoming expensive and unaffordable, no job opportunities, government's and police's high-headedness, corruption everywhere - and then went on to mention falling bridges, broken roads, no footpaths, stray dogs and cattle all around and dumps of garbage everywhere. He called ethanol-blending a scam.

I felt he was just waiting to burst out everything that's piled up in his mind. Glad that heard him out.

Then I realized that there are millions like him and these protests are not just about the NEET exam leak. These are the piled up frustrations finding a way out.

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

Fast track courts; discussion on education policy; locating leaks in INC regime, etc. is an eyewash.

If the govt has to deal with the protest, it must answer
- Pradhan’s exit-Y/N
- 1 Cr Compensation-Y/N
- No punishment for 20th July-Y/N

#NEETprotest #cjp
@Cockroachisback

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

@jansuraajonline Must watch!

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

@kunalkamra88 Amazing! Nostalgic for me. Request you to get it dubbed in regional languages so that the “gig” workers can watch, relate and understand. Middle class and English speaking is no hope. Kudos to you.

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

@EzuieQuotes Opportunity

[Goa Deserves Better @GoaDeservBetter]

Goa CM inaugurating traffic signal 😜
Goans to @DrPramodPSawant right now-

[Institute of Public Policy, Bengaluru @MPP_NLSIU]

Professionals in making! Meet Mathur! November, 2020! @MatSatJ @NLSIUofficial #publicpolicy #AcademicTwitter #nlsiu #MPP #IPP_NLSIU

https://t.co/jMYNt3FO0c

[Whats Appp University @Whats_appp_uni]

This proves #Rhea is responsible for everything. 😂😂

[Charan Preet Singh @CPSSethi]

@khanumarfa Eid Mubarak 😀