Karan Thapar has to be one of the most obnoxious TV interviewers anywhere in the world. He symbolizes all things wrong with our media. Yet, he did pull a coup of sorts the other day when he got Jet Airways ED, Saroj Datta on his show with Capt. Sam Thomas (one of the pilots initially sacked) on the phone. And in his thankfully inimitable style, Karan did all the talking, skillfully twisting the meaning of their words here, and shamelessly putting words into their mouths there.
I was stunned that the two parties so adamant on sticking to their positions chose to talk on his show rather than have a direct discussion. I guess once these matters are public, neither wants to extend a hand and be seen as weak.
I was more surprised that Sam Thomas chose to participate. The pilots are walking a thin line by going on mass sick leave. No one believes they are sick, unless they mean "sick" in a perverted way. And given the inconvenience caused, the public is not going to be too merciful. So to appear on a TV show and state that the agitation will continue and we are being discriminated against only offers evidence to the obvious - that the mass sickness is indeed a strike. The pilots have numbers on their side and it might save them from any severe consequences, but to be so brazen shows a sense of pride, which they say comes before a fall.
Karan Thapar amazes me as well. I think he tries to do Tim Sebastien of BBC but falls short of the same.
ReplyDeleteAbout Jet situation - I think Jet Management should pay the pilots' (probably increased) salary for the next 12 months in fixed quantity of shares at today's value. In 2 months they will know how they have damaged their own airlines.