Almost all the journalists representing the major newspapers and channels were present at Sudarshan's press conference but they were convinced that no other paper would publish it. The reason is that none of the media group owners want their advertisement revenue cut in the state.
Journalists on BJP beat who get sympathetic to party as they are covering it for second term didn't want to upset Sangh leaders and BJP government. But Dainik Bhaskar played the spoilsport for all of them and went ahead with a huge full page news.
The story covered all the allegations which former RSS sarsanghchalak Sudarshan made including Sonia being a CIA agent and her alleged role in the killings of Indira Gandhi and her husband Rajiv Gandhi. Other reporters thought no one would publish and it had been 'managed'.
Some papers published the news but diluted it, thinking that it was an old man's eccentric comments and could be ignored. But when Bhaskar published the news and its national edition also carried it, the controversy reached parliament.
Angry protests were held in the country and the Congress got BJP on the backfoot. There was no way that such charges and vulgar allegations could be defended. It was a dream breaking story for any newspaper or channel reporter but pro-state government owners and journos who tried to block it, got a shock as Bhaskar played it up. But they had missed it and there was no other option but to follow the story now on the next day.
In MP, Raj Express and Jagran carried small item news while Nai Dunia and Patrika neglected it. TV channels also compromised on their journalistic principles and ignored the important news which has seriously dented RSS' image.
For long Dainik Bhaskar was considered a pro-BJP and to some extent a pro-establishment newspaper also but it seems the owners now want to bring a radical change and take it to national centrestage as leading Hindi newspaper.
Jagran and Bhaskar had indeed been pro-Hindutva papers and their leanings towards RSS and BJP were open. But the young generation seems to change the way the newspaper has been run. It is now being modelled on the lines of modern newspapers where news should take precedence.
Though Bhaskar has interests in many sectors and news gets compromised, they are planning to get aggressive to beat other papers outside MP, Rajasthan belt also. If they don't do it, they can't win over Bihar, Jharkhand and be ready for the big fight in Delhi-UP.
