The spectrum of corruption

The 2G spectrum scam is living up to its name as the worst corruption scandal of recent times. It continues to taint more and more people. The latest revelations again centre around the lobbyist Niira Radia, particularly her conversations with Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi, two journalists who are bywords in the profession. Now, journalists speak to all sorts of people in the course of their work, so no one should be surprised by the Radia Tapes, which were placed before the Supreme Court by the Centre  for Public Interest Litigation. But the tenor of the conversations raises a number of troubling questions. The journalist-politician-government nexus is an established one, and politicians often do consult journalists, but the Radia Tapes have the flavour of lobbying (there are ruder and cruder terms for it) more than anything else. More than reporting the news or getting the background to interpret events, the principals appear to be involved in making or shaping the news, a straightforward conflict of interest. They seem to be not witnesses but major participants.    

These recordings were purportedly made in 2008 and 2009, when the Income Tax Department placed Radia’s phone lines under surveillance. They show her to be a woman of formidable influence with a wide network in politics, business and the media, the triumvirate that rules the country. It is difficult to be absolutely certain that they are authentic, but they are prima facie credible. And the story they tell is an old one, of the seductions of power and how it distorts perspective. More to the point, the tapes raise serious doubts about credibility. The next time a programme, say, like “The buck stops here” is aired, how can anyone be sure it is not choreographed to present a particular point of view? In the case of print, that question becomes even more urgent because readers tend to believe a respected columnist without question. They may not agree with the viewpoint but they rarely question the ‘facts’ as laid out.

It is this erosion of trust that is particularly painful. If unaddressed, it will have serious consequences for a profession that depends so heavily on trust. That is why it is imperative that the light be shone pitilessly on this murky affair and the truth established, whatever the cost. A society so riddled with corruption simply cannot afford to have its ultimate watchdogs dipping their snouts in the pork barrel.