State-owned Doordarshan and AIR instinctively turn everything uttered by their bosses into prime-time news. When Priyaranjan Dasmunsi was in control of the I&B ministry, even the most minor of Durga pujas or football matches in his constituency were covered live on Doordarshan. Now that Dasmunsi is confined to a hospital in the city, both Doordarshan and AIR have forgotten about the events in his constituency.
Instead, the focus is now on minister of state for external affairs, Anand Sharma, who has temporary charge of Dasmunsi’s ministry. The other day, Sharma was in his home state, Himachal Pradesh, and paid a visit to the local station of AIR-DD. And sure enough, it made prime time news for the national broadcaster.