Before I could settle down in my office after completing my deposition before the NCW chairperson, Lalitha Kumarmangalam, I was surprised to see Madam Chairperson's reaction on TV channels, declaring that my reply to the notice issued to me was not satisfactory. I had naively thought that the NCW would, at least for appearances' sake, have a thorough discussion internally and would only then react, but sadly I was wrong.
So, to set the record straight, I am going to divulge the details of the 45 minutes meeting I had with her. The entire proceedings have been video graphed.
As soon as I sat down in front of her, I told her that I had my written reply to her notice which I had submitted to her office. In my letter, I said that no case could be made against me but if she still wanted to hang me, she could. My reply contained a complaint against Mr. Modi and Mr. Amit Shah in the context of their alleged snooping on a woman in Gujarat at their behest. This incident complete with audio recordings was reported by news websites ahead of the general election. After reading my letter, she promised to take cognizance of the complaint, to register a complaint against them, to initiate action and to communicate the action to me on the basis of my complaint. I clarified further and she repeated the same thing.
After this, she wanted me to answer a list of questions which she had noted down in a note pad. I said I had replied in the first two paragraphs of my written submission. She insisted and I said I don't want to answer in person. I said I had already replied and my answer is complete. This led to a not very pleasant conversation. I could see that she was a bit irritated. My argument with her veered on the following lines: "Madam, let me tell you that before coming into politics, I spent a considerable amount of time in journalism and was the editor of a very prestigious news channel for almost eight years. I have also written two books on contemporary Indian politics and have written thousands of articles in different newspapers and magazines. But this is the first time that any institution has hinted that I should have taken permission or got the content of the
column for ndtv.com screened by the esteemed organisation headed by you in the event of writing on a subject related to women.
I have always believed that the constitution of India to which we all swear gives every citizen of the country including me the fundamental right to freedom of expression. I am also aware that emergency has not been imposed and my fundamental rights have not been seized. That means I am still entitled to enjoy my right to freedom of expression. In this context I am pained to say that your four-para letter is a direct infringement on my fundamental right to expression. Freedom of expression is the basic spirit of the constitution which has given shape to our democracy and democracy means free exchange of ideas, open debate and discussion.
Debate is not possible without the right to expression. Democracy is all about healthy exchange of conflicting ideas, ideologies and world views. Unfortunately, your letter negates the very essence of our democracy as it hindrances my free flow of ideas. If every time I write, I am constrained by the thought that some institution is going to censor my ideas and writings, then there won't be any free debate, there won't be any creative freedom, and without freedom, societies don't evolve and civilisations die. I don't want the NCW, for which I have tremendous respect, to be blamed for this transgression by the coming generations."
I specifically underlined that I was very perturbed by the fact that before I received her notice to appear before the panel, she appeared on different TV channels giving phone interviews. By the time I figured out what was happening, she had already pronounced her judgement about my alleged "culpability". This did not stop there. Later in the day, I saw her appearing on different TV channels debating and discussing my ndtv column. And to my surprise, without any hesitation she called me "guilty". She obviously denied that she had passed any judgement about me.
I further informed her that I was also invited by the same TV channels and anchors to appear on their debate shows. But I refused, because as a concerned citizen of the country, I have always believed that dignity of the institutions should be respected; so if I have been summoned by the institution, whether rightly or wrongly, I should put my views before the institution first, and only after that to any other forum. That evening, what I saw was distressing, I was trashed without being heard. I was denied the very fundamentals of civilised society and the jurisprudence, the law of natural justice. She did not agree with me.
She took umbrage that I had insinuated that she had sent the notice as she belonged to the BJP. Without mincing my words I said, "The minute one dons the mantle of the chairperson of an esteemed institution like NCW, one is seated on a chair which demands neutrality and impartiality, irrespective of the ideology and the party membership one held in the past, to do justice to the responsibility ordained so that people at large have faith in the institutions because institutions are bigger than the individuals."
I also mentioned that the notice that had been served on me also raises certain disturbing questions as the same NCW had not been alert enough to serve notices to the persons which by her yardstick had committed for graver offences of misogyny. Like Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma advising foreign women not to wear skirts in India.
I quoted from the third paragraph of her letter written to me - "The commission is therefore, extremely upset with such irresponsible, misogynistic disparaging views by person holding responsible positions" I told her I was amazed that the NCW did not find any fault in the statements of persons holding much higher positions than me but no notice was ever served to these gentlemen. She had no clear answers to this.
I repeatedly reminded her that many people who were served notices by the NCW refused to appear before the panel, but I did not follow their path because for me, the respect for an institution is for greater than my respect for any individual and my own ego.
This continued for 45 minutes and I could see that it was a pointless exercise. Finally, I was handed over a receipt to my reply that encompasses my complaint about Mr Modi/Amit Shah in the Snoopgate case. I took her permission to leave thinking that some action would follow on that. But of course, I thought wrong. Her interaction with the media after my meeting convinced me that nothing was going to happen on my complaint. Anyway.
(Ashutosh joined the Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.