He had been waiting in the wings for decades. When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reshuffled his Cabinet on Sunday, a lone soldier for the Congress party – Manish Tewari – was elevated to the position of Minister of State (independent charge) for Information & Broadcasting.
Thanks to his appearance on TV channels and quotes in newspapers, Tewari is perhaps better known than many other ministers within the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. As the national spokesperson of the Congress, Tewari is perhaps one of the first representatives across political parties who can give sound bytes as fluently in Hindi as he does in English. Understandably, the channel wallahs love to call him to their studios. “You got to give it to him (Tewari). When you have him as one of you panelists, love him or hate him, he’s got a remarkable presence and you know he won’t b******t you. When things go really heated and dirty between two guests, trust him to put across his views yet maintain dignity before millions of viewers,” says a senior TV anchor, known for his ability to put panelists in the dock.
Tewari has also been among the foremost among party spokespersons in setting a sort of trend in TV mannerisms. It’s common for him to address TV anchors – and be addressed by them – by first names! A politician who openly declares his love for History, Literature, Poetry, Military History, International Affairs and Strategic Studies, Tewari seems to be the reflection of the intellectually-profound, erudite, thinking, eager, no-nonsense Young Turks among leaders the country desires.
Understandably, he’s earned the laurels. While The Economist acknowledged the elevation of the “bright spokesperson for the party” to the junior minister post, Sandeep Sahu, the Orissabased BBC correspondent, wrote about him in his blog, Sandytalk, in September: “Guess who has the most difficult job in India today? No, it is not Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Nor is it UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. It is not the editor of the venerable Old Lady of Boribunder or the captain of Team India either. Hard to believe though, it is the Congress’ man for all seasons, Manish Tewari. True, he was banished into the sidelines and barred from television studios by the party high command for a while after his intemperate outburst against Anna Hazare last year. But after the erudite Abhishek Manu Singhvi shot himself in the foot with his indiscretions with a lady lawyer, the grand old party had no choice but to fall back on the tried and trusted MP... Since his reinstatement, he has been holding fort at TV studios every evening virtually singlehandedly,performing the seemingly hopeless task of defending the indefensible with aplomb.”
That Tewari is a lawyer has helped him in the art of delivering for the TV viewer. He is widely travelled and experienced within the Congress leadership ranks. This has given him the ability to focus on the spoken word. His choice of words, phrases, delivery, the pitch, wit, a gift of repartee, and the ability to emote effectively has seen him rise above the Manu Singhvis and Renuka Chowdhurys. He’s faced all - mobbing reporters during afternoon briefings at the Congress headquarters and ripping television anchors during prime time. There is much to say of this ability, particularly in these times of scams and scandals beleaguering the ruling UPA government. But nothing seems to be much trouble for the tactful Tewari.
Like all politicians, Manish Tewari has two sides to him. On the one hand, there is Ludhiana rejoicing about its lad in the Union Cabinet. As an NRI district, it hopes for more flights connecting it to the rest of the country and the world – so the Union Minister has promised. On the other, there are those who love to hate this articulate speaker. In fact, in a five-city opinion poll conducted by India Today in November 2011, among 2,500 urban youth between 18 and 25 years of age, of India’s most hated public figures, Tewari stood 20th.
I know people who would rather switch off their television sets than hear Tewari “parroting” the stand of the party that is deeper into scams and scandals today than ever before in its history. Even its leadership stands shaken by the criticisms not only at home, but also abroad.
Now imagine the unenviable task of defending such an entity! Imagine appearing on national channels, prime time, bulletin after bulletin, news reel after news reel, day after day, week after week, month after month, and bravely trying to deflect the volleys of charges of corruption, malpractice, thievery and utter violation of the law. Imagine mounting such a mammoth defence, not for yourself but for the entity you represent.
Manish Tewari has done all that and more for the Congress. I’d like to believe that often, this astute politician did so because it was warranted of him as a national speaker and not because he was twisted himself. I earnestly hope, now that he has more responsibilities towards the masses as a minister, he is not caught in such Catch 22 situations. Rest assured, then, he himself, more than anyone else, has the most to lose as a long-standing presentable face of the Congress.
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