On Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal declared that the media was conspiring to "finish off" his government in the national capital, and suggested that the media be publicly tried. For a chief minister of a nominally progressive party, this is an astonishing statement. For a political leader who has benefited from media coverage throughout his career, it is an even more astonishing statement. And for an activist who was pushed into prominence entirely thanks to the Delhi-based media, it passes the boundaries of astonishment into entirely new terrain. Of course, other politicians have in the past attacked the media. But Mr Kejriwal's threat of kangaroo courts sounds exceptional, and deserving of condemnation.
The reason that Mr Kejriwal launched into the media is because he believes that a couple of controversies that have recently bedevilled his government have been media creations. One is the question of the degree claimed by Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar. Various opposition parties and some media outlets have questioned the authenticity of Mr Tomar's bachelor of laws degree. Mr Kejriwal disputes this, and points out that the courts have "not said anything, but the media is saying everything" on the subject. This is surprising because, after all, Mr Kejriwal has made his name on the back of accusing individuals, institutions and companies of corruption, through the media, and in the absence of any direct court sanction of those entities. Why should Mr Kejriwal imagine his own ministers are exempt from such treatment? If the charges are unsubstantiated or wrong, there are available options for getting such grievances redressed.
For his own sake, and that of his party and his media, Mr Kejriwal should guard against the temptation to view momentary media explosions as central to the success and failure of his government in Delhi. That will depend on his actions and decisions, and real success will in turn determine his party's prospects outside Delhi, its ability to transform India's politics in the manner that Mr Kejriwal has promised - and the nature of its media coverage.
Either way, Mr Kejriwal should set a better example for the many people who look up to him as a breath of fresh air, a beacon of civility in politics. Talk of "public trials" makes him sound like the street-fighting agitator that he seemed to have promised to leave behind. He should instead take along important stakeholders like the media - if there are some problems in its coverage, there are avenues open for redressal. It would be better to maintain communication with the people through the media, instead of trying to snap it.
