Till early last week, there were strong rumours of Arnab Goswamy leaving Times Now, possibly to start his own venture. But he is still going strong with News Hour & the cardiologists have rediscovered their smiles again!
I do not know if there was any truth to these rumours, maybe they were spread by his detractors to pull down his TRP. True or not, this is high time Arnab made a move away from his current position. It gets monotonous at the top & a person of his caliber needs new challenges to keep going & growing. I know Arnab has no time to even glance at my suggestions, so I appeal to the PM to consider these as possible positions where he can utilise the talent of Arnab for the benefit of the nation:
Home Minister:
No one has been more concerned about the internal issues than Arnab, be it Rohit Vemula suicide, Nirbhaya gang rape, Kanhaiya episode or the police encounters. In his new position, Arnab simply has to visit the various prisons with foreign journalists & human rights activists to meet under-trial terrorists. There, Arnab will verbally torture the terrorists that they will commit suicide in the presence of terror sympathisers, & no one will be in a position to blame Arnab. Similarly, all those candle light marchers will flee to the safety of their homes if they see Arnab on the street ready to confront them. With Arnab as HM, peace will finally prevail all over, including the news channels.
(With the impending elections in UP, Rajnath Singh can be easily accommodated as the CM. With a friendly government at the centre, he could actually turn around the fortunes of this Bimaru state.)
Defence Minister:
We have all watched it on News Hour, how Arnab has taken on the Paki establishment, terrorist sympathisers in Kashmir & the anti national voices from within. He is the soldier without the gun who fires without the bullet & kills without blood being shed. While the incumbent has admitted to having "personal opinion" too, Arnab has only one opinion - the "national" opinion. If he can turn the veteran paki generals into jelly from the confines of his news room, imagine what he can do if he goes to Wagah border! The mere sight of him will make the paki jawans desert in droves. Ditto for the north east too. Think Assam (and he happens to be an Assamese too) has a long boder with China & you know why he is just the man for this job.
(Looking at the strides AAP is making in Goa (as reported in the print media), its best to dispatch Manohar Parrikar, a man of clean credentials, back to protect the home turf.)
National Security Advisor:
He knows what the national wants to know, he knows all there is to know, especially about security issues & he knows how to advise, be it errant opposition politicians or the retired paki soldiers. He also carries the aura of authority over himself that brooks no nonsense. When he is around, he is the one in control & he makes sure everyone around knows this. With facts & figures on his fingertips, he is the guy who can bring the holistic approach to security issues.
(This being his post-retirement posting, Ajit Doval can be re-retired, this time for ever.)
Lt. Governor of Delhi:
Not exactly the position that befits Arnab. But has Arnab ever bothered about stature & the like? Else, why would a person of his unmatched talents sit in front of a camera night after night after night asking what the nation wants to know? But he is the one who can fling 100 pages of documentary evidence for each printed page carried by Arvind Kejriwal. Unlike the incumbent, Arnab will not quitely listen to vague accusations that Kejriwal makes every other week. Rather, he will make the Nation want to know what AK has been doing all this while. And he is the person AK will be unable to run away from after challenging for a debate. I think, AK will even forget to cough when confronted by Arnab.
(While Najeeb Jung has been quite up to the task, he can never equal Arnab's skills & can be easily sacrificed.)
Finance Minister:
One needn't be an economist to be a successful FM. Remember, we had one as the previous PM? With Arnab at the helm, the black money owners will themselves return the cash to bank & pay due taxes (with penalty) on their own. And the traders who have been hoarding the essentials in their godowns will release them to the market, bringing the inflation down. I am sure, Arnab only has to raise the pen in his hand & the Rupee, on its own, will strengthen itself against the dollars & the euros. And the budget? Not only will there be no pilferage, even funds siphoned off over the years will be returned to achieve a zero deficit budget.
(With DDCA affairs being in such shambles, Arun Jaitley should return to manage its finances.)
This is not a comprehensive list of possibilities open to Arnab. I can add so many more, India's Permanent Representative to UN being one. Or, Ambassador to China. But, then we will not see & hear him so often. I just hope Modi picks Arnab for one of these positions during the next reshuffle. Will He? The nation wants to know.
