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Founding editor of TheWire, Siddharth Varadarajan, his fictitious tales and agenda journalism: How he spun a yarn yet again

Such is the tragedy of Indian media that this man remains relevant even after being found guilty of false narrative building several times in the past. Irrespective of how hard Thambi - the creator of Geetaben of 2002 and an imaginary couple of faraway Italy- tries, Newton Modi’s reign is here to stay. 

“I’m not easily given to pessimism” declared Siddharth Varadarajan alias Thambi this morning while doing, what he does best – manufacture an imagined story to pursue his agenda journalism. 

Thambi’s latest has two side characters – a Hindu husband and his Muslim wife – and the protagonist, Thambi himself. To me, Thambi’s decision to allocate faiths ‘wrongly’ to fictional characters in a mixed marriage points to how irreparably his psyche has suffered damage, ever since Narendra Modi assumed power. Seemingly, the fear of being booked by the BJP supporters for propaganda pushed him to tread with caution. After all, the clairvoyant Thambi saw it coming 22 years ago and he even warned of the IT act being used as a policing tool. Coincidentally the man was booked under this very act 20 years later

Come next tweet and the self-proclaimed fighter in Thambi decided to give in to pessimism and declare – “picture is gloomy.” Poor Thambi is losing again. Too bad, as the last time, when he had won against Hindu chauvinists was as a boy; after he prevailed over Muthusamy and Usha and successfully resisted doing his sacred thread ceremony, unlike Tunku Anna. Coming events cast their shadows before said someone long ago!

Back to Thambi’s latest creation. I wonder if his interaction with a mixed couple of the ‘imagined’ story was a ‘one on one’ or if it took place in a crowded conference hall. Knowing this is important because, in his own words, he found ‘one on ones’ as something of a mixed blessing, which if the chemistry is right, risks being charmed into making commitments that may not be in their best interest. Borrowing from his own, it seems that the commitment – “we can’t let them decide what India will be” made by him to his imagined couple seems to be a charmed one resembling the virgin Thambi on Viagra; who, while in Perugia, Italy, don’t know what to do with his new-found fleeting power in a foreign land, thus making him susceptible to indiscretions.

I am convinced that Thambi will be fine as soon as the 40-degree heat of Delhi’s blistering sun will hit his bearded face and bring him back to the reality of the new India of Narendra Modi- who he once called Newton Modi!

And if the ‘imagined’ meeting was not a ‘one on one’ then it must have taken place in some crowded conference hall and the virgin Thambi on Viagra, with his penchant for posing before the camera, must have clicked some pictures. Come on Thambi, be a sport and share it!

Next, he mentioned his friend Aakar Patel. Well, I am not in a mood to go into the details of the fraud committed by an inconsequential Aakar Patel but I do agree with him that his friend, who could dodge foreign exchange regulations with such ingenuity, indeed possesses a sharp mind.

Moving on to the next few tweets and to see Thambi talk of hate, I want to remind him of his April 2004 hate ridden Geetaben item in the Times of India and how the press council found him guilty of shamelessly manufacturing lies and presenting it as news instead of opinion. Truth be told, even opinion doesn’t seem to be his forte as evident from his Jan 2000 declaration- Nothing Islamic about terrorism. He wrote this within days of Rachna losing her husband of a few weeks to Islamic terrorists.

But then such is the tragedy of Indian media that this man remains relevant even after being found guilty of false narrative building several times in the past. Irrespective of how hard Thambi – the creator of Geetaben of 2002 and an imaginary couple of faraway Italy- tries, Newton Modi’s reign is here to stay. 

Thanks to Chidambaram, I am reminded of a befitting Tamil proverb- one cannot straighten a dog’s tail – to best describe Thambi alias Siddharth Varadarajan!

He better not quit doing what he does- the agenda journalism!

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