Speaking after launching a website  of `Janashakthi’, a fortnightly magazine here on Thursday, Sainath said that most of the newspapers do not have a full time agriculture or labour correspondent. ``Media is disconnected with 70 per cent of the population and is not talking to them. However, during elections, it is these 70 per cent who make news. During such time, all the opinion polls will be washed away due to huge under current of these voters,’’ he noted. During the recent Union budget, over Rs 60,000 crore farmer loan was waived. While the media spoke about the farmers and there were panel discussion on television channels, there were no farmers or somebody who knew about farming on the panel, Sainath said.
He said that loan waiver scheme existed even during British rule and the erstwhile Madras Presidency had waived the farm loans. ``At that time there were no banks loans and they had waived loans by money lenders. Now, only the bank loans have been waived and money lenders are not talked about. As per government statistics, only 35 per cent of farmers avail farm loan and rest avail from money lenders,’’ he added.
Noted Kannada writer Dr Baraguru Ramachandrappa said that the economic reforms in the country was measured in terms rising stock market and not in terms of rising life pattern of common people. ``Globalisation has been on agenda of almost all the parties. The industrialists are now controlling the government, which should have been other way round,’’ he said.
Dr Ramachandrappa said that communal people were present in every political party and question was whether people should change the party or perception of the elected representatives.