Shiv Sena has written a letter to the India Today Group, refuting the allegations levelled against them by journalist Rahul Kanwal who had allaged that Shiv Sena goons had threatened SII CEO Adar Poonawalla for vaccines.
Calling it “absolutely untrue” and “defamatory”, Sena demanded that the India Today group takes action against Rahul Kanwal.
Today in the @IndiaToday election coverage, their anchor, @rahulkanwal cooked up a lie to accuse the ShivSena of threatening Adar Poonawalla. This baseless piece of journalism is nothing but an attempt to malign the party. Our letter to India Today Group pic.twitter.com/mlRTqnHAuy
— Shivsena Communication (@ShivsenaComms) May 2, 2021
“…to attach another party president’s video to Shiv Sena and to deliberately defame us through misinformation speaks volume of the political bias of the anchor. It reeks of malice ans misinformation campaign, may be to divert the national debate on an important day of election result and as the country rages through COVID-19 pandemic,” the letter said.
In its letter, Sena also reminded the India Today Group how another journalist from one of their TV channels expressed prejudicial views against a senior Shiv Sena leader in the past. This is assumed to be in reference to a news show on Aaj Tak when anchor Anjana Om Kashyap called Aaditya Thackeray Shiv Sena’s Rahul Gandhi.
Sena defended its demand of action against Kanwal by highlighting a previous incident when the Group had punished a journalist for broadcasting fake and misleading news. The journalist in question is believed to be Rajdeep Sardesai, who was taken off-air by the India Today group in January 2021 for two weeks after he spread fake news about the death of rioter Navreet during the Republic Day riots.
“We also expect an express apology from him on the same platforms that he has voiced this fake news on,” the letter said.
Rahul Kanwal says Adar Poonawalla sent him videos of Sena goons gheraoing his factory and demanding vaccines
The CEO of the Serum Institute of India Adar Poonawalla has temporarily moved out of the country after facing threats from the most powerful men in India after Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members have constantly fear-mongered and demonised him.
Calling out the perpetrators, India Today’s Rahul Kanwal, in a shocking revelation, has said that the most powerful men and others issuing threats to Poonawalla happen to be none other than the ruling party of Maharashtra: Shiv Sena.
While conversing with his colleague covering election results, the anchor got into a monologue describing the COVID-19 situation and temporary migration of Adar Poonawalla. It is then that Rahul Kanwal revealed, “…And I actually saw this. He (Adar Poonawalla) sent me some videos of some Shiv Sena locals showing up outside his factory, giving him the choicest of gaalis (abuses) and saying ‘humko pehle do’ (give us the vaccines first) and this is bizarre.”
