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The media emerged visibly bruised from the UPA’s fourth anniversary bash at the PM’s residence last week. Not because it didn’t get a story. Amar Singh saw to it that hungry scribes got more than their share of sound bytes that evening by providing an unending stream of quotable quotes.

It was Rahul Gandhi who did the battering with a lengthy harangue on the Indian media’s inability to keep faith. Off-the-record conversations become headlines the next day, he admonished a group of journos who had surrounded him eagerly for a quote or two. More often than not, his words got misquoted. He would love to share his ideas with the media but he couldn’t trust anyone to stick to the terms of interaction. It went on and on.

Who said the Gandhi scion is media-shy? He looked quite capable of fobbing off the most inquisitive of questions. The media has its own curious code of conduct for dealing with the Gandhis.

It either scorns or fawns. That day, after some initial murmurs, it chose not to argue. Not even when Rahul compared Indian scribes unfavourably with their foreign counterparts who, he said, are never guilty of a breach of trust. If a conversation is off-the-record, it stays that way. He said he wished the Indian media would stick to ground rules too.

Ironically, when Rahul loped into the dinner, he glanced around and then sat down at a table that happened to be occupied by a journalist from Assam. He was probably unaware of her identity when he chose to sit there but being a good reporter, she lost no time in engaging the future leader of the Congress in conversation. And to his credit, he answered all her questions with utmost seriousness. While the rest of her colleagues turned green with envy, the two of them chatted away till the evening’s function began. Now, was that off-the-record or on quote? He didn’t seem too perturbed about ground rules as she talked to him about the Northeast and its myriad problems.

While Rahul is still in the process of evolving a code of conduct for the media, he seems to have managed to draw the Rubicon line for his party. Hardly any minister or MP approached him for the most part, unless he called them. It left him free to observe events and people from the sidelines. At UPA anniversary dinners in the past, Rahul has been a fleeting presence. But this year, at what was probably the last supper for the ruling coalition, he sprung a surprise by staying till the very end and was almost the last to leave. He was probably notching up another learning experience.

TAILPIECE

While most politicians are anxious to promote their son’s political careers, Lalu Yadav thinks only cricket for his son Tejaswani. Lalu has been pushing hard to get a place in the Indian team for Tejaswani who has so far played under-19 cricket for Delhi. The first break came recently, courtesy GMR, which owns the Delhi Daredevils. Tejaswani is a member of the Delhi squad in the IPL’s T-20 series. Is the national team the next step? Well, Yadav Jr will have to earn his spurs on the wicket. He’s still waiting for a chance to play.

Email: a_jerath@dnaindia.net