Media and the messages

The National Democratic Alliance government's informal media gag has already sunk in with officials who would talk to journalists openly when the United Progressive Alliance was in power. But officials in charge of communication in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) have gone to the other extreme. On his recent visit to Brazil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office seemed keen to register everything the PM did, big or small, with not just the media but also social media. As a result, journalists in India received text messages of Modi's activities at unearthly hours because of the time difference. This apart, the PMO does not miss a day to mark its presence. So, whether it was saluting the efforts of the doctor community on Doctors' Day or congratulating chartered accountants on Chartered Accountants' Day, Modi's media team does not hesitate to relentlessly bombard the media with messages.