Arun Jaitley’s witticism

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley is immensely popular with media persons. Affable and accessible, he is popular with scribes. Given his proximity to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, his importance has grown multifold. Recently, after a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting, scribes made a beeline to his place, trying to catch up with him. When he entered his own office, which was already swarmed by journos, Jaitley was baffled. “I see some journalists sitting, some standing and some outstanding,” he remarked, pointing to those, who could not even manage to enter his office.

In his media interactions, Arun Jaitley never gets drawn into an argument over party issues, where he would have to spell out the party policy. Instead, he chooses to put issues in perspective, giving insight into the party’s thinking on a particular issue. It helps the scribes not only to better understand the issue, but also to get a peek into the party thinking on an important issue. That is the success of Jaitley, who manages to be media-savvy, without giving away too much of inside information.