A few weeks ago I was at a dinner party where a very senior veteran journalist was also present. Election season was fast approaching, and inevitably the conversation veered around to politics. Over the last year or so I had developed an intense dislike for the congress politician Mani Shankar Aiyar. As soon as an opportunity presented itself, I launched a strong, emotional attack on Mr. Aiyar, flinging some choice abuses at him, and talking at length about his sycophancy with respect to the Gandhi family.
The journalist interrupted me after a few minutes and informed me that Mr. Aiyar was a good friend of his. Of course that didn't deter me from expressing my views, and I carried on after a gentle "Oh I didn't realize Aiyar is your friend, but...".
Eventually the journalist lost his cool and stomped off, but not before addressing the group and shouting loudly "You know, Narendra Modi is a hindu fascist"! He repeated this a few times before walking away.
I was flabbergasted! At no point did I ever mention Narendra Modi during the conversation. I was just expressing my (considerable) dislike for Mani Shankar Aiyar. So why did this journalist fly off the handle about Modi? I don't know for sure, but I can hazard a guess. The argument probably went like this...
You hate Mani Shankar Aiyar, who is a congressman. Mani is my friend, so I need to defend him. Since you hate a congressman, you must love the BJP. Narendra Modi is the most visible symbol of the BJP and an easy target for criticism. Therefore insulting Modi is a good proxy for defending my congressman friend.
I know this is pretty convoluted logic, but that is the best I can come up with.
Why do I feel the need to tell this story? Because journalists are human. They may have their own agenda, which means they can't always be objective. Therefore treat their opinions with a healthy dose of scepticism.
And remember this about Mani Shankar Aiyar. He is a former IAS officer, a man of immense intellect and potential. He hates Narendra Modi because of 2002, but absolutely drools over Rajiv Gandhi in spite of 1984. I am sure he can craft a very logical response for this anomaly. Just like our journalist friend did.