Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. (René Descartes, mathematician and philosopher,1599-1650)

Thursday 7 August 2014

FNP and FFP Argue a Few Points: Video

Join Veena Bhatnagar on  FijiTV2's Aaina programme (Ep. 138, 8th August) as she interviews NFP's Biman Prasad and FFP's Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum about the state of their party campaigns, and on the issues of citizenry, the economy, the cost of living, government appointments, and why some reports will only be released in September. The speakers, especially Biman, switch back and forth between Hindi and English, and there are English subtitles. Somewhat repetitive and some talking past each other, but a worthwhile programme and a credit to Veena and  both speakers. Conducted with civilised good humour.  An example of Fiji as it "can be".

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Biman is an academic with no record of public of community service. The same can be said of Khaiyum. Having watched the debate, the problem, to my mind, is that Biman tried too hard to impress with his exhortations in both English and Hindi. He seemed all over the place. Khaiyum, on the other hand, was more composed, rational and seemed to have more grasp of the 'bigger picture' and its implications for the future of Fiji. Out of a score of 10, I scored Khaiyum 9, and Biman 6.

Anonymous said...

Even Victor Lal gave this debate to the AG because of Biman's refusal to speak in Fiji Hindi. As he rightly points out on Fijileaks, hardly anyone in Fiji understands the language of mother India that Biman insisted on using for a domestic Fijian audience. How dumb is that?

Anonymous said...

And therein lie an important lesson in politics that Biman missed. As former Australian PM put it "politics is all about communication". By reverting to pure Hindi and refusing to use Fiji Hindi, Biman failed to 'communicate' and empathize with his audience. The Debate was all about him. He seemed to be trying to hard to impress.

Anonymous said...

AG hanged the professor dry. That brings the question is he really a professor of arth-shatra ? Chanakiya, father of economics politics must have rolled in grave on this dissident so called "Biman" (meaning an air-plane). If this aspiring PM has any shame he must drown in a glass of water. Biman, tu pm na ban saka to na ban, kam se kam apna naam ka kaqdr kar. Kanbakhat mera gaao, Draketi (Manidevu) to poora mitti me mila diya.

Anonymous said...

And Biman wanted to challenge the PM for debate. "Hage ke gaandh nahi, chale leele bair"

Joe said...

Oh My God !!!!! people like Biman wouldnt even get a ticket to contest an election in the A D Patel/ S M Koya days, let alone leadership of NFP.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I too was incredulous how Biman came across and being interruptive, spoke in Hindi that is not used in Fiji, and did not even know historical personalaites of the party he leads! The AG mentioned names of past NFP leaders and Biman did not even blink an eyelid...not even a nod of acknowledgement to his political predecessors. AG won that debate 9 to Biman's 4.

Joe said...

This guy Biman will be PM if there is a cold day in hell and NFP wins the election. Look at his demeanour on TV, biting his lips and poking his tongue out occasionally, interrupting, accusing the host of being biased when tough questions were asked, etc. Is this the best NFP has to offer? On the other hand the AG was to the point, composed and very professional and presentable. Speaking of being presentable, look at the "kani kani" on NFP candidate Attar Singh. I am sure he will be quarantined abroad.