Mamata hires agency to keep tab on print, electronic media

The Mamata Banerjee government is hiring a private agency to scan all reports on the government appearing in the print, electronic, different websites including the social networking sites.

“So much is going around in the media and the government needs to keep a watch. There are so many television channels and newspapers these days. Then there is the social media. A lot of things are being written on Twitter and Facebook.

We want a professional agency to keep track of the developments and report these to the chief minister,” a Trinamool Congress minister told Deccan Herald on condition of anonymity.

“The private agency would scan all the reports, including on print and electronic media, throughout the day and send relevant clippings and recordings to our chief minister daily by 3:30pm. This will help our leader to understand what is happening around her,” another Trinamool Congress member said.

When asked what was the need for hiring such an agency, a Trinamool Congress leader considered to be close to Mamata said: “Recently there has been several occasions when a certain newspaper or a television channel has tried to defame our party and our leader.

They have spread canards which has hit the image of the party very badly. In this condition we need to have ready proof of such activity so that we can take immediate action.”

However, there is another reason why the chief minister wants to keep a tab on the news media. Recently, the party faced real embarrassing situations because of some irresponsible comments made by some party members in front of the media.

“The Trinamool was greatly embarrassed by the utterances of its Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on the Park Street rape case. Our leader would like to keep a tab on such statements so that the party can avoid such embarrassing situation,” another senior party leader said.