After becoming I&B minister, Soni was not sure she would last so long

Facing angry MPs incensed about perceived lack of accountability by TV channels in the Lok Sabha after becoming the new information and broadcasting minister made Ambika Soni so jittery that she had her resignation letter ready the same evening.

Facing angry MPs incensed about perceived lack of accountability by TV channels in the Lok Sabha after becoming the new information and broadcasting minister made Ambika Soni so jittery that she had her resignation letter ready the same evening.

Soni recalled how "strongly" MPs felt about the lack of following of any model code of conduct by television channels.

"It was an unenviable job to be the minister of I and B and I wouldn't think that I would last out two-and-a-half-years. The first time I attended Lok Sabha after taking over I got my letter of resignation ready the same evening," she said, addressing the National Press Day celebrations.

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She said she saw how strongly the MPs and leaders felt about the television content and the lack of adherence to any model code of conduct.

"We cannot have a knee-jerk reaction for that. So we went in for the self-regulatory mechanism," she said.

Soni was made the I and B minister after the UPA-II came to power in May, 2009.