Jaipur, 10 August, 2018 — A politician need not be a great economist to be a good prime minister, said journalist Karan Thapar at the Talk Journalism conclave here on Friday, citing the example of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and India Gandhi.
“See I am not saying that Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) does not have good qualities. Even Manmohan Singh was not a loquacious person but yes he was a great economist. But again a politician or a Prime Minister does not have to be a great economist. Great PM like Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were not,” Thapar said after a panel discussion with senior journalist Ayaz Memon.
“All you need is a good set of people with a clear intention and good policies for the people,” Thapar, whose book ‘The Devil’s Advocate’, which has a section on his controversial 2007 interview with Modi, said.
When Thapar was asked if curbs on free speech can be compared to the Emergency imposed in 1975 by the then Indira Gandhi government, Thapar said it will be wrong to compare the two.
“Emergency was way more strict and the scenario then was much more pathetic. But yes the present scenario is deeply disturbing but I don’t think we should compare the two. If we would that then we are not giving enough respect to emergency,” he said.
Text: Anusuya Som | Copy edit: Anusuya Som | Photo: Anusuya Som | Photo desk: Anu Sonia |Editorial coordination: Jyoti Mamnani
The report was filed during live newsroom workshop conducted by Institute of Integrated Digital journalism and Mass Communication (IIDJM)