News, Tobgay and Dipika
In recent days, I wished following what new journalists in Bhutan have been writing and how they make their sources for news they compose. I found very few journalists on their job also running blog.
Few days back I read Dipika Chhetri’s blog where she had mentioned that blog run by opposition leader Tshering Tobgay is source of information for her. The leader updates as many things as he could in a day that go without notice from the journalists. In a sense, Tobgay is destined to be a journalist but how landed in a party. But do not forget to visualize that he would be same powerless on sources had he been a journalist in this country where bureaucrats say ethics of office secrecy restricts them revealing the number of industries registered in Bhutan to journalists.
This morning, I just went through Bhutan Today where Dipika wrote about Tobgay’s blog. The story is about pension increment of the Members of Parliament. The things had been so closed by the politicians and the government and bureaucrats to tight-lipped that before Tobgay wrote no journalists could know what went by the process.
He followed the news after Tobgay. Thanks that show how inquisitive Chhetri is about what’s going buzz around. That gives sense of using internet in our generation although it has been less than a decade Bhutan got this web highway.
I am surprise by what NC speaker told Dipika. For civil servants, the revision would come into effect from the day decision was take and for the MPs it comes from the day they took office. Don’t wonder Dipika, if you happen to write another story on pay hike within the next four years (before next election) and NC speaker again saying the pay revision would be from April 2008.
Just imagine, what the politicians would have not done when there were no media to report and any challenges against the government decision were termed anti-national activities. That’s all to judge the politicians who termed themselves to be most corruption free in the region.