For the record

On the morning of his much-anticipated prime time TV interview, Rahul Gandhi met a select group of journalists for a strictly off-the-record chat. The significant point about this no-notes press meet, however, was that it was hurriedly organised with journalists summoned at the last minute. What was the need for this scramble? Perhaps Gandhi's media managers were aware of the underwhelming nature of his performance on the pre-recorded TV interview. But the meeting did nothing to improve the Congress Party vice-president's chances of a better press once the interview was aired.