NEW DELHI: Union Minister Arun Jaitley said “compulsive contrarians discovered a new Balakote” which lies within Indian territory and without checking facts referred to it as the target of the Indian Air Force when it struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed terorist camp in Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Paktunkhwa province.
He also took a sharp dig at news channels, saying they are increasingly resorting to “agenda setting” instead of reporting.“When our Air Force reached Balakot in KPK, before one could gather any information someone started saying it is close to the LoC and some people whom I call compulsive contrarians discovered a new Balakote without even checking that, that particular Balakote is not across the LOC but in our own Poonch. “Why will our own Air Force attack our own territory,” Jaitley said at a function to release a book titled ‘Mann Ki Baat - A Social Revolution on Radio’ based on PM Narendra Modi’s monthly radio broadcast.
Speaking at the launch, he said “People will now not only listen to slogans but can exercise their judgement through the reach of the social media.” In the next 10 years, alternative forums of media will grow and it is difficult to project their growth at this point, the minister said.
Digital media through its reach can also expand its commercial base, he said. But the ultimate judge to choose between conflicting options would rest with the listeners and viewers and the time for ‘long winded statements’ was over, said Jaitley.