Pranabda should shun news TV today

In a few hours, we’ll know the character of the Union Budget for 2012-13. We’ll know if it’s brave, development-oriented and path-breaking budget, or a safe, vote-gathering exercise or something in between.

Pranab Mukherjee, whatever the composition of the budget, will be the cynosure of all eyes - and all news TV cameras - from the moment he steps out of his house.

As this is being written, news channels will all be scrambling to fix appointments for their reporters/anchors/editors to meet/call him to ‘speak’ to him post the presentation of the budget.

And, for once, he should refuse to appear on any of the channels.

Because there’s no upside as far as he is concerned - only a downside.

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What is there to clarify on the budget? The speech that Pranab Mukherjee will deliver later this morning is one that will be available to all within minutes of his completing it - and it’s a black and white document. Everything that he says in parliament will be contained in the document.

What the news channels will want is his reaction to their various interpretations of why certain proposals were in the bill and why some were not; they will want his reaction to their interpretations on the impact provisions have on the support and lack of support the budget provisions will provoke from the UPA’s non-Congress partners; they will want his reaction to their speculative interpretations on whether the UPA could collapse as a result of some provisions in the bill.

They will do all this within minutes of the budget being presented, even as the budget speech will run into 10,000 to 15,000 words and most of the news TV reporters and editors are incapable of assimilating the impact in a few days, let alone a few minutes.

And the TV channels will interrupt him, put words into his mouth, provoke him, badger him, be rude to him, be condescending to him.

None will just praise him and move away (in the event that the budget is one that is interpreted as praiseworthy by them) because that will not make for good television.

Good television will need a Pranab who reacts in provocation, a Pranab who is uncomfortable, a Pranab who is defensive and aggressive - and none of that is good for the finance minister.

Which is why, after the budget, Pranab Mukherjee should stay away from the limelight and pour himself a well-earned drink.