S Jaipal Reddy

The small entrance to 14, Akbar Road, is crowded with cars, and a general janata clad in either white khadi or off-white silk. Between meeting well-wishers bearing roses, servants offering barfi, and Raj Babbar announcing his arrival, the newly-appointed Minister for Information and Broadcasting S. Jaipal Reddy is clearly pressed for time. United Front spokesman, leader of the Janata Dal in the Rajya Sabha and now minister with a high-profile portfolio, he admits that the pressure ``is telling on my nerves and health''.

There's the sound of a baby crying in the background and his son, Anand, recently back from New York and now based in Hyderabad, intervenes occasionally to either inform Reddy about a dinner at Prime Minister I.K. Gujral's home or about a visitor. Anand is here only to oversee the ``repairs of the house, which is falling apart''.

He'll soon be leaving, says Reddy. ``I have been a parliamentarian for 30 years. I have never allowed my son to enter politics.'' Looking at the wall clock, Reddy clears the room of all visitors, keeps all calls at bay and rustles up some refreshments.

Excerpts from a conversation with Kaveree Bamzai.

* There is a belief that you weren't too keen on being made Information and Broadcasting Minister?

It's not true. See, I have always been working for the party at the organisational level, whether it was in power or in the Opposition for nearly three decades. I could have become a minister earlier but this time I seized the opportunity because there is no point in just preaching. You should be able to bridge the inevitable gap between precept and practice. I am aware of the problems confronting me in the Ministry. Yet I am quietly determined to fulfil my tasks.

* What are these tasks?

I see two in order of priority. One is to grant statutory autonomy to Doordarshan and AIR. It has been an idea that has been around for a quarter of a century and the Prasar Bharati Act has been languishing in the statute books for seven long years. This Act is in need of refurbishing and what's more, implementing.

Second, a lot of things have happened in the past few years. We now need a Broadcast Authority of India with teeth and autonomy and we need to operationally delink the Prasar Bharati Act from the Broadcasting Bill. We are hoping to introduce the new Bill in the current session of Parliament and we expect all parties to evolve a consensus on various contentious issues in the Parliamentary Committee to which it is referred. We have no objection to referring it to a Parliamentary Committee.

* How do you propose to tackle the various interests involved in the Broadcasting Bill. Your predecessor, C.M. Ibrahim had the reputation of only relying on some advisers but of being largely inaccessible. Your reputation is that of being more open.

Mr Ibrahim also did some good work. In all fairness to Mr Ibrahim, we must acknowledge that he got the framework of the Bill cleared by the Cabinet. But policies are not decided by one minister, howsoever talented or eminent he may be. It is the Parliamentary Committee which will do so.

* There is a widely-held belief that certain kinds of technology represent a threat to national security. Earlier, free-to-air satellite television was talked of in these terms and now it is Direct-To-Home TV. What is your view on this?

We can't wish away new technology which is not only exploding but invasive nor can we allow ourselves to be swept off our ideological feet. See, it's the Parliamentary Committee I want to depend on. In a department or area increasingly invaded by big business, there are bound to be problems but we have to evolve a consensus.

So, I don't want to take a position. Am I Brahaspati? Anyway, the real question is not of fighting vested interests. Any policy is bound to favour one vested interest or another. Yet, if someone is entering this field with huge investments, we cannot grudge him reasonable profit. How do you evolve the right policy mix keeping the rapid technological advances in mind as well as our relatively stable ideological framework? One minister alone cannot do that.

* What is your view on Doordarshan and its increasing emphasis on revenue generation, sometimes to the extent of shifting educational segments to make way for entertainment programmes?

Like everyone else, I may have my impressionistic observations about DD but they are not backed by empirical evidence. I am more interested in building an institution. I am not going to be the CEO of Doordarshan. I don't have the time, talent or temperament.

Nor am I going to give any direction. Until the Broadcast Authority of India is given statutory autonomy, I will give all professional freedom for the officials to deliver the goods. I will not interfere either in news telecasts or in programming.

I'm in no holy or unholy hurry to improve DD's quality, simply because I don't know how to do it.

* How will you measure the performance of Doordarshan? By revenue targets or public broadcasting goals?

Public interest has to be balanced with commercial imperatives. Neither is paramount, it is the balance that is paramount. I've no ideas of my own. I'm entering the department with an open, even blank mind.

* You must by now have had the time to go through the draft of the Broadcasting Bill. What is your opinion on provisions such as foreign equity and cross-media control?

I don't want to express my views and prejudice the national debate. I am prepared to abide by the decision of the Parliamentary Committee. I do not believe my own view is superior, precisely because no individual can be superior to the wisdom of the collegiate.

Anyway, I have repeated ad nauseam, no provision of the Bill is sacrosanct. I have met with the CPI and CPI(M) and found their views reasonable and flexible in tactical strategy. After all, why should they change their ideology? And their concerns on cultural invasion and dominance of media by foreign interests are widely-shared. I have been in touch with the BJP and will be meeting its leaders shortly. I have, of course, been speaking to the Congress.

* Do you watch television, especially the news, and how do you relate it to the print medium?

Oh, yes, I watch all the news bulletins. There's been a lot of change and improvement. But let me tell you, television can only be a rich supplement to print. I spend two hours every morning reading national and international papers. I read everything,... Time, The Economist and Newsweek. I believe technology should be welcomed. I am all for hi-tech because technology is ideology-neutral. It does what you make of it. If television is trivial, blame the software, not the hardware.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.