In ancient Roman calendar , 15 March is called , ” Ides of March ”
A few days earlier in 44 BC , a seer had warned Julius Caesar to ” Beware of the Ides of March ”
On that day , on his way to Senate , Caesar joked to the Seer ,
” Ides of March have come ”
Seer replied ,
” Aye , Caesar , but not gone ”
Once inside the Senate , Caesar was assassinated !
Caesar paid the price for ignoring the warning !

Thankfully , 2000 years later , there are no physical assassinations
But , what about political ” harakiri ” ? Self – inflicted wounds ?
Entirely possible , when ego combines with anger – a deadly cocktail !

Why else should Arvind Kejriwal threaten ALL media by saying ,
” Media are corrupt . They are bribed by political parties and businessmen to air PAID NEWS
If we come to power , we will investigate and send ALL of them to jail ”

Of Course , we understand the anger , the enthusiasm , the frustration with the present political system and can forgive AAP leaders for the following :

> a few hundred people were inconvenienced when Arvind travelled by
rickshaw / local train in Mumbai

> some AAP workers misbehaved in their enthusiasm to show their
support to Arvind’s crusade

> AAP organizers did not apply for the necessary police permissions
sufficiently in advance

We can also concede that media will place before the public , not the real / total / unblemished picture – but its ” tainted ” version , dependent upon that media’s political leanings

Eg :

How many TV anchors thought it fit to place Nitish Kumar ( CM – Bihar ) in the witness box , when he brought the entire state to a grinding halt , a few days back ?

Or when those election rallies of Narendra Modi / Rahul Gandhi disrupt millions of lives ?

Sure , Arvind is given to hyperbole and we could have brushed aside if he were to say ,
” In my perception ,- and I have no proof – , some TV channels are being financed by some people / parties , to tell white lies and to malign AAP
If we come to power , we would investigate such nexus , if any , and try to make media , truly independent of such undesirable influences ”

But he allowed his ego to overtake his genuine / well-placed anger !

ARVIND

It is still not too late to be warned
The Ides of March is here !

* hemen parekh ( 15 March 2014 / Mumbai )