PM Modi and Media – Facts vs Fiction

New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) Before May 2014, ‘On Board Prime Minister’s Special Aircraft’ used to be the most fancied byline for the ‘celebrated’ editors to flaunt at various fora.That was a privileged class who with their collar held high would travel in executive class on PM’s overseas tours in specially designated Air India One aircraft, have choicest of wine, dine at 32,000 feet above sea level, stay on top hotels on foreign shores, and while on their way back home would get to ask a few questions to the Prime Minister.What the Prime Minister would say in response would make the headlines on landing in New Delhi.Trip after trip, the accompanying media would include almost the same names, with minor changes occasionally.But all that changed after Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014 with a majority of his own.While the elites saw that just as a change in government, that too by ‘fluke’ or a ‘quirk of fate’, an overwhelming number of people who voted for Narendra Modi did so not just for a change in the ruling regime, but for a change in the system.When system and systemic changes began to unfold, the established elites in the media started crying foul.The pride of flying on Air Force One and the associated perks and privileges were gone in one stroke. Other accesses also got restricted. Gone were the times when privileged journalists would influence Cabinet formation, as happened with the Radia Tapes during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA regime.A section of mediapersons who belonged to this elite group were among the most vociferous. Time has not evaporated the prejudices built since 2002. They gave a new nomenclature to themselves — ‘Independent Media’ — while the current ruling dispensation coined two terms for them and the associated echo chamber groups, ‘Lutyens Media’ and ‘Khan Market Gang’.One major charge by this section of people and the supportive groups, including the opposition parties, against PM Modi since 2014 has been constant, i.e., the Prime Minister has not held a press conference in the last 10 years.Let’s consider this.From the time Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Bhuj, Kuchh, and Anjar, and the experiences he had after the 2002 riots when large sections of media judged him from a fixated narrow prism and overlooked all the good work done by his government, made him believe in creating a more direct means of communication with the people.Among his peer groups in