Congress has made yet another move aiming to assert its supposed political relevance in India. On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, a bunch of Gandhi loyalists have decided to launch on YouTube what is being called ‘INC TV’. The primary objective of the to-be 24 X 7 news channel allegedly is Congress’ want of money. They might want to convey that they are fighting an ideological battle against the BJP’s rather extravagant social media machinery, but the reality is that INC TV is just yet another means of ensuring that the Grand Old Party alleviates its bankruptcy woes.
The Congress is reportedly suffering from an unprecedented resource crunch, which is why INC TV has been launched at very short notice and with the approval of the Gandhis’ most loyal of courtiers. Many in the Congress are said to be feeling let down as they were not consulted before the announcement related to INC TV. The digital media platform will be the party’s channel to give news and also combat the propaganda against Congress, party sources told IANS. It is also aimed at conveying the party’s message directly to the people. The party believes that their side of the story is not presented properly, alleging a bias against the party.
Interestingly, the Congress had previously tried carving an electronic news presence for itself, by pumping Kapil Sibal’s money into Tiranga TV – whose editor was infamous journalist Barkha Dutt. The channel tanked a few weeks after its launch but proved to be a disaster for Congress. The party also runs National Herald – a publication which perhaps not even Congress leaders read anymore. As such, the party’s presence in the media is just close to completely absent.
In this context, the launch of an ambitious YouTube channel that will also provide some revenue to Congress has got many people talking. The official launch of the channel is slated for April 24. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had tried to marshal a gigantic force of over 5,00,000 individuals to join the Congress’ social media army in order to protect liberal values of love, compassion, peace, harmony and affection.
“As a young person, you can see what’s going on. Nothing is invisible. In your school, universities, colleges, you can see the oppression, you can see the attack on the ideology. Look outside Delhi, you can see what’s happened with the farmers. The backbone of this war on the nation is a troll army. Thousands of people who spread hatred, anger and are paid to do so,” the Congress scion has said.
That plan too has evaporated with time. It is yet to be seen how long INC TV takes before inevitably biting the dust and proving to be a dud.