Right to Information through Twitter

#Tweets can certainly be a barometer for ministerial(administrative) activity.

I started following Shashi Tharoor on twitter right after the "cattle class" controversy. Honest opinions expressed once in a while.And I have already gotten used to 'Warm discussions', 'excellent mtg', 'Views exchanged', 'Addressd Indian community', 'warm welcome from'. That's what most of his tweets read.

Shashi Tharoor has been a diplomat all his life and having narrowly missed the race to UN General Secretary (which he later opted out of), one can certainly and safely assume that he is good at perception management, about his nation (India) and himself. The information/agenda that he so regularly tweets may never be of any material consequence (at least in the near future) to an average Indian, but certainly shows activity on his behalf. In the past decade or so (that's when i started reading newspapers) I haven't seen a union minister ever discuss his work. I doubt if anyone likes to discuss their work on public forums. And when it comes to ministerial responsibilities, I have a hunch its the senior bureaucrats who have a much better knowledge of the subject and guide their minister to better (alternatively politically correct) policy makings.

Mr.Tharoor having been a diplomat is quite adept to this procedure and I would presume knows his job better than most in his cabinet colleagues. Although having represented India at UNO, Mr.Tharoor is new to inside of Indian politics (he's probably seen it from the outside). And he has done an enviable job of creating visibility among ranks and masses through his tweets. Also having published a book co-authored by Shaharyar Khan he's keep himself in the news (not necessarily conventional print), showing all the characteristics of a successful-personality-for-public. And this will go a long way to gain political mileage with his 100% literate 'Tvm' constituency, the sacrosanct Congress High-Command (aka Soniaji Ghandhiji) and ofcourse the remainder of India.

I would certainly like all the union and state minister to start tweeting about all the information/agenda they can share on a daily basis. It will do them good, handling their public image themselves instead of relying on yellow journalism. Also, probably getting the younger generation interested in politics/governance of the nation.

Some may see through the tweets and at the end of a minister's term may realize it as "substituting activity for achievement". But as long as the perception of the potential to fulfill a promise is taken care of by a full calendar, theres little to be worried about.

The central laboratory of political research at Delhi has to start the clinical trials for this new tweetnomena (tweet + phenomena). I would certainly demand a 'Right to Information through Twitter' from all the minister. You handle your perception and I will handle your reality.