In a tragic incident, a 24-year-old man named Lakshmipathy was murdered by family members of his girlfriend in Kudur, Ramanagara district on Tuesday. As per reports, Lakshmipathy was invited by the family under the pretext of discussing his wedding with the girl.
According to the reports, the 24-year-old K Lakshmipathy, a garment factory worker and a part-time auto driver had eloped with a Muslim girl and the duo had decided to tie the knot. However, they were stopped by the girl’s father Nizamuddin, who convinced his daughter saying he would get them married. The father then invited Lakshmipathy to visit his residence to discuss marriage and sort out the differences between them.
After inviting Lakshmipathy to their residence, the police said, 45-year-old Nizamuddin, his son Sikandar and two other associates named Ibrat and Mohammad took Lakshmipathy and his elder brother Nataraj to a deserted spot in Kudur, on the pretext of marriage talks where they strangled Lakshmipathy to death after beating him.
Nizamuddin made them to drink alcohol, strangled Lakshmipathy to death
K Nataraj, elder brother of Lakshmipathy, narrated the incident and said the accused mercilessly strangled his brother as he watched helplessly. Natraj said that the family of the girl abused Lakshmipathy over their religious differences and asked him to never even dream of marrying his daughter.
“Around 10 am on Tuesday, Nizamuddin took my brother Lakshmipathy to his house, saying they would decide the wedding date and other issues. I accompanied them. Sikandar and the others said we should go out and hold the discussion. Lakshmipathy spoke to the girl, telling her they were going to discuss the matter,” Nataraj said in the complaint.
The brother of the deceased said that Nizamuddin and his associates also made them drink alcohol.
“Nizamuddin came looking for me…They grabbed me and bundled me into the auto. They pushed me out near Kunigal Cross and told me not to reveal anything or else they would kill my other family members,” Nataraj, a daily-wage worker, said in the complaint.
Later in the day, the brother of the deceased registered a complaint at the Neelamangala police station. The police began the investigation and traced the body of Lakshmipathy in the night. The Police have now arrested the father of the woman and her brother while two others are absconding.
Who is on the side of the people? The media, of course. Keeping the citizens informed, with minute to minute details of the unfolding national crisis. Count the number of talking heads and the decades of media wisdom between them.
Tweet by NDTV journalist Sanket Upadhyay
Order – order! The panel is in session. What is the agenda of the day?
The 70 lakh Coronavirus cases in India?
The Chinese incursions in Ladakh?
The Dalit victim in the Hathras incident?
No way. They have something far more important to talk about. As Sanket explains, this is a “very important 9 pm discussion of my life.” Who wants to discuss your life Sanket and why are you putting it on primetime?
I see. Even NDTV anchors can get their English grammar all mixed up when the excitement and tension is too high.
Not long ago, the media messiahs were shaking their heads in despair. Why won’t the country discuss real issues? What has happened to our media discourse?
And today, media has convened for the all important primetime discussion on TRP games!
Keep in mind. These cheap TRP battles wiped the Hathras case off our screens. This is how much the great humanitarians in media care for the people. This is how much they care about social justice, about Dalits, about women and about the nation in general.
If you ever want to see media in its lowest form, yesterday was the day.
Did you know that Maharashtra is No. 1 in Coronavirus cases in India?
Did you know that just a day before, Mumbai Police gave a clean chit to Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in alleged Rs 25,000 crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam?
But who cares? The Mumbai Police is doing a high voltage press conference on who may or may not have paid somebody Rs 500 to watch a TV channel.
And that’s the news. Definitely not the clean chit in alleged Rs 25,000 crore scam. Not the 15 lakh Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra. Nor the Dalit victim in Hathras and not the Chinese incursions on the LAC. The “news” is about TRP games.
Many years ago, there was a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament. Nine of our brave security personnel died protecting the heart of Indian democracy. A famous media personality described it as a ‘great day.’ Why? Because of TRP.
This is who they are. From the Parliament attack of 2001 to the case in Hathras, they are vultures and only vultures. They pose as humanitarians, but in reality, they are vultures. That’s where the real danger is. They feel nothing. They pretend as if they feel everything.
It’s okay to be a vulture. The constitution gives them the right to be vultures. But for our own good, we need to be aware of these vultures among us.
There are a lot of good things about India, but the media is not one of them. For instance, do you remember the UPA era when headlines would be of 2 lakh crore scam and 1.76 lakh crore scam? Now they are so starved for scams that it has come down to Rs 400-500 scam. Now that is something we can be happy about.
A day after a complaint was registered against India Today TV for manipulating the TRP, the media network has brazened out to push misleading claims to declare Republic TV as a guilty in the ‘Fake TRP’ case despite having no proof to substantiate their claim.
On October 6, Hansa Research Group Private Limited, the company responsible for installing and maintaining the Bar-O-Meter of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), had registered an FIR alleging manipulation of Bar-o-meters.
During the investigation, it was revealed that India Today and other channels had instigated one Vishal Bhandari and had offered money to households with the meters to keep their TV tuned to those channels. Audio has also surfaced where the main witness, Tejal Solanki, can be heard confessing on record that her son was asked to watch India Today in order to manipulate their TRP.
The FIR filed in the TRP scam case
However, on Thursday, the Mumbai police addressed a press conference and made some sensational claims against some TV channels alleging that they were manipulating TRP ratings. The Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh had said that three TV channels, including Republic TV, were involved in manipulating viewership data of BARC by paying those households where Bar-o-meters, the devices that track TV viewership, are installed.
The Police commissioner said that the arrested persons had admitted that Republic TV and two other Marathi Channels were involved in the scam, and the owners of Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema channels have been arrested.
Despite India Today being named in the FIR and named by the witness in the case, the Mumbai Police commissioner did not named them and claimed that Republic TV has been found to be bribing viewers to fake TRP data.
India Today derides Republic TV, accuses them of manipulation
Soon after the press conference, India Toady, which is fighting an unsuccessful TRP war with the Republic TV, jumped onto the scene to accuse Republic TV of indulging in manipulating viewership data. India Today went on overdrive trying to deride Republic TV and Arnab Goswami.
India Today News Director, Rahul Kanwal, who was earlier caught lying about BARC ratings, went on a long rant trying to deride Arnab Goswami and India Today as well.
Image Source: Rahul Kanwal
However, the FIR was then accessed by Republic TV and also by OpIndia has revealed that the name of Republic TV has not been mentioned in the FIR anywhere. In fact, it was India Today that was mentioned in the FIR along with some other channels that were not explicitly named.
In a major twist to the case, the FIR specifically named India Today as an accused in the case contrarian to the claims made by India Today that it was Republic TV which was mentioned in the FIR.
India Today brazens it out, shows notice to claim Republic TV is an accused
Despite being named in the FIR, India Today has continued to brazen it out and went to pin the blame on Republic TV in the ‘Fake TRP’ case. By citing a crime branch notice by the Mumbai Police to BARC, the ‘journalists’ at India Today tried to manipulate the viewers to claim that Republic TV is an accused in the case.
Chaiti Narula, an anchor at India Today, posted the crime branch notice on Twitter, to display a notice issued to BARC under section 91 of the CrPC to state that Republic TV has been named in the ‘Fake TRP’ case.
Narula, who claims to be a journalist, not only failed to differentiate between a notice issued by the Mumbai Police to BARC seeking their presence in the investigation and an FIR, which incidentally names her own channel India Today, but also went onto misinform public that Republic TV has been named in the FIR.
Image Source: Chaiti Narula
Not just Chaiti Narula, many other India Today journalists latched on to the same Mumbai Police notice issued to BARC claim some sort of ‘moral victory’.
Ashutosh Mishra, another ‘journalist’ at India Today, also flaunted the same notice issued to BARC and attempted to pass it off as an FIR in the case.
If we look at the notice issued by Mumbai Police to BARC carefully, it says that the accused in the case has revealed that he was paid to allow installation of BARC meters at their houses to watch Republic TV garner more viewership to the channel. Interestingly, the FIR in the case does not name Republic TV contrary to what Mumbai Police’s notice mentions.
Image Source: Ashustosh Mishra
What is even more interesting is that while the FIR was registered on 6th October and specifically named India Today, the Mumbai Police, instead of investigating India Today, sent a notice to BARC on 7th to get the viewership data of Republic TV. A day later, on the 8th, Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh named Republic TV on national TV. Evidently, no investigation against India Today seems to have been conducted even after they were named specifically in the FIR.
Even as India Today continue to do all the theatrics to change the narrative in the ongoing ‘Fake TRP’ case, they have been brazening it out, flashing the dubious notice by the Mumbai police. It is also not clear why the Mumbai Police Commissioner named Republic TV when it was India Today that was named in their FIR and mentioned by witnesses for manipulating TRP data.
Ironically, the anchors at India Today are on a shouting spree against Republic TV of manipulating numbers even as they themselves were named in the FIR.
The ‘fake TRP scam’ has taken a remarkable turn in less than 24 hours. On the 8th of October, Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh held a press conference where he thundered away against Republic TV and Arnab Goswami, claiming, that the channel had illegally paid some households to keep some channels on even if they were not at home to boost their TRP. However, by the end of the day, it was revealed that in the original FIR, Republic TV did not find a mention anywhere. In fact, it was India Today that had been named in the original FIR.
While earlier, India Today had gone into a celebratory mode and gone hammer and tongs against Arnab Goswami after the press conference by Parambir Singh, the revelation that the original FIR mentioned India Today, and not Republic TV seemed to dampen the mood a bit.
After recovering from the initial shock, Rajdeep Sardesai tried to salvage the situation a little. Rajdeep took to his channel to question the Joint Commissioner of Police. He asked “an attempt has been made to suggest that India Today was mentioned in the FIR” and then, went on to demand clarity to exonerate himself and implicate Republic TV.
The Joint Commissioner, however, interestingly admitted that it was indeed India Today that was named in the FIR. This revelation itself leads the Mumbai Police to tie itself up in knots, since once this admission is out in the open, not much else makes sense.
In a statement that is now being touted by India Today to exonerate themselves and implicate Republic TV, Mumbai commissioner Parambir Singh has said that there is only one FIR that is dated October 6th and in that FIR, India Today was indeed named by one of the witnesses. But, as the probe progressed, neither BARC nor any of the witnesses nor accused named India Today. According to Singh, all of them named Republic TV and the two Marathi channels. Therefore, “as of now, there is no evidence against India Today. We are proceeding against Republic TV and Marathi channels”.
Statement by Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh that was touted by India Today to exonerate itself and implicate Republic TV
Since last night, India Today has constantly touted this statement to claim its own innocence and target Republic TV.
Mumbai Police has said that it found no evidence against India Today in the TRP manipulation racket.@sardesairajdeep talks exclusively to joint commissioner of Mumbai police Milind Bharambe.#ITVideopic.twitter.com/0htrBsXlpI
However, the desperation of India Today aside, the statement by Mumbai Police Commissioner has raised far more questions than it has answered.
It is to be kept in mind that the FIR was filed on the 6th of October 2020. Interestingly, in less than 24 hours of the FIR being filed, on the 7th of October, the Mumbai Police sent a notice to BARC to seek the viewership data of Republic TV.
Notice sent to BARC
Let us recap what that means. While the original FIR filed on 6th October named India Today, and this has been admitted by the Mumbai Police Commissioner himself, in less than 24 hours, the Mumbai Police interestingly sends a notice to BARC to gather viewership data of Republic TV and not India Today.
Then, in another day, on the 8th of October, Mumbai Police Commissioner concludes his investigations enough to come on national television, hold a press conference, and name Republic TV specifically in being involved in the TRP scam.
Therefore, if one is to believe the Mumbai Police, an FIR was filed on the 6th October and without conducting any investigation into India Today itself, they sent a notice to BARC to get the ratings of Republic TV on the 7th and on the 8th, were convinced enough to hold a press conference implicating Republic TV.
Interestingly, in the entire 3-day span that the Mumbai Police had before going on national TV, there is no evidence of any letter to BARC to get India Today viewership details or investigate them. From the 6th of October to the 8th of October, while the FIR itself named India Today, it is Republic TV that is now mysteriously facing the ire of the Mumbai Police.
Further, there is another clinching fact that puts the Mumbai Police in a terrible spot. The main witness in the case, Tejal Solanki specifically named India Today even on the 8th when she spoke to a Republic TV reporter. That conversation can be heard here.
In the audio, Tejal Solanki clearly mentions that her son was approached to watch India Today in order to increase their TRP.
Hence, the claim of the Commissioner, Parambir Singh, that no witness has named India Today does not add up at all. In fact, if the FIR was against India Today, claiming that no witness has named India Today itself does not make sense since the FIR must have been filed with India Today’s name in only after someone would have named the channel directly.
It is thus evident that with this statement issued by Parambir Singh and touted by India Today, the two entities seem to have tied themselves up in knots even further leaving people with several unanswered questions and many, many doubts.
While Mumbai Police names Republic TV, FIR filed in the case names India Today
Today Mumbai police made some sensational claims against some TV channels saying that they were manipulating TRP ratings. In a press conference held on the 8th of October, Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh had said that three TV channels, including Republic TV, were involved in manipulating viewership data of BARC by paying those households where Bar-o-meters, the devices that track TV viewership, are installed.
Param Bir Singh had said that two persons have been arrested in connection with the ‘fraud’, one of them used to work for an agency that worked with BARC. He said that they had obtained data of households with the meters installed, and sold this data to the TV channels, who then used this data to influence the TV viewership of those households.
The Police commissioner said that the arrested persons had admitted that Republic TV and two other Marathi Channels were involved in the scam, and the owners of Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema channels have been arrested.
However, the FIR was then accessed by Republic TV and also by OpIndia that revealed that Republic TV was not mentioned in the FIR anywhere. In fact, it was India Today that was mentioned in the FIR along with some other channels that were not explicitly named.
Arnab issues a statement: You are scared of the truth coming out, he says to Mumbai Police Commissioner, Parambir Singh
After the press conference by Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh, Arnab Goswami of Republic TV issued the following statement:
“Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh has made false allegations against republic tv because we have questioned him in the Sushant Singh Rajput case investigation. Republic tv will file a criminal defamation case against Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh. There is not a single BARC report that mentions Republic TV. The people of India know the truth. Mr Param Bir Singh’s investigation in the Sushant Singh Rajput case is under a cloud and this is a desperate measure because of Republic TV’s reportage on Palghar, the Sushant Singh Rajput case or any other case. This kind of targeting only strengthens the resolve of everyone at Republic TV to push for the truth even harder. Param Bir Singh stands completely exposed today since BARC has not mentioned Republic in any single complaint. He should issue an official apology and get ready to face us in court.”
After India Today lost its mental balance following Mumbai police accusing Republic TV of indulging in manipulating viewership data (TRP), it has been revealed that the complained filed by BARC had actually named India Today TV for the crime, not Republic TV.
The FIR alleging manipulation of Bar-o-meters installed by BARC was filed by Hansa Research Group Private Limited, the company responsible for installing and maintaining the Bar-O-Meter of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). Following the complaint, Relationship Manager of the company Vishal Bhandari was arrested by Mumbai police. During the investigation, revealed that India Today and other channels instigated him and offered money to households with the meters to keep their TV tuned to those channels.
Now, audio has surfaced where the main witness, Tejal Solanki, has admitted on record while talking to Republic TV journalist that her son was asked to watch India Today in order to manipulate their TRP.
Listen to the audio:
Tejal Soni is one of the 5-panel homes on basis of which man arrested for manipulating TRPs. Interestingly, it was also revealed earlier that according to the statement given by Vishal Bhandari, the audit team had visited one of the panel homes, and the household had confirmed that they were paid to watch the India Today for minimum 2 hours per day.
While Mumbai Police names Republic TV, FIR filed in the case names India Today
Today Mumbai police made some sensational claims against some TV channels saying that they were manipulating TRP ratings. In a press conference held today, Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh had said that three TV channels, including Republic TV, were involved in manipulating viewership data of BARC by paying those households where Bar-o-meters, the devices that track TV viewership, are installed.
Param Bir Singh had said that two persons have been arrested in connection with the ‘fraud’, one of them used to work for an agency that worked with BARC. He said that they had obtained data of households with the meters installed, and sold this data to the TV channels, who then used this data to influence the TV viewership of those households.
The Police commissioner said that the arrested persons had admitted that Republic TV and two other Marathi Channels were involved in the scam, and the owners of Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema channels have been arrested.
However, the FIR was then accessed by Republic TV and also by OpIndia that revealed that Republic TV was not mentioned in the FIR anywhere. In fact, it was India Today that was mentioned in the FIR along with some other channels that were not explicitly named.
Arnab issues a statement: You are scared of the truth coming out, he says to Mumbai Police Commissioner, Parambir Singh
After the press conference by Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh, Arnab Goswami of Republic TV issued the following statement:
“Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh has made false allegations against republic tv because we have questioned him in the Sushant Singh Rajput case investigation. Republic tv will file a criminal defamation case against Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh. There is not a single BARC report that mentions Republic TV. The people of India know the truth. Mr. Param Bir Singh’s investigation in the Sushant Singh Rajput case is under a cloud and this is a desperate measure because of Republic TV’s reportage on Palghar, the Sushant Singh Rajput case or any other case. This kind of targeting only strengthens the resolve of everyone at Republic TV to push for the truth even harder. Param Bir Singh stands completely exposed today since BARC has not mentioned Republic in any single complaint. He should issue an official apology and get ready to face us in court.”
It is interesting to note that after the press conference by Mumbai Police Commissioner, India Today went on an overdrive trying to deride Republic TV and Arnab Goswami. They even dubbed the “scandal” as a “cash for TRP” scandal, fashioning it like the “Cash for Votes” scandal that ironically involved Rajdeep Sardesai.
India Today News Director, Rahul Kanwal, who was earlier in the day caught lying about BARC ratings where Republic TV had beaten India Today hollow, went on a long rant trying to deride Arnab Goswami and India Today as well.
Tweets by Rahul Kanwal
Now, however, there seems to be egg on India Today’s face as the FIR specifically names India Today and in fact, the witness in the audio released also specifically names India Today and no other channel.
While ethics is unexpected from a troop led by Rajdeep Sardesai, one wonders if the India Today crew will come to its senses and withdraw their slanderous news. However, we are not holding our breath.
After India Today lost its mental balance following Mumbai police accusing Republic TV of indulging in manipulating viewership data, it has been revealed that the complained filed by BARC had actually named India Today TV for the crime, not Republic TV. The FIR filed in the case has been accessed by Republic TV, which shows that India Today was named in the FIR, not Republic TV as alleged by Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. The FIR names India Today several times, but the police commissioner chose to allege that Republic TV has been named, which is not true.
The FIR alleging manipulation of Bar-o-meters installed by BARC was filed by Hansa Research Group Private Limited, the company responsible for installing and maintaining the Bar-O-Meter of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). Following the complaint, Relationship Manager of the company Vishal Bhandari was arrested by Mumbai police. During the investigation, revealed that India Today and other channels instigated him and offered money to households with the meters to keep their TV tuned to those channels.
The FIR filed in the TRP scam case
Moreover, he revealed that a person named Vinay asked Bhandari in November 2019 to approach 5 homes and ask them to watch India Today daily for 2 hours. The FIR filed in the case reads “Today on 6lh October 2020, Assistant Police Inspector, Mr. Kazi, has informed me that, Basis on the secret information received, they arrested Vishal Ved Bhandari, House no.6, Kashinath Khandu Bhandari Chawl, BMC Quarters, Chincholi, N B Road, Malad (W), Mumbai 400097, During the inquiry, he informed that he is working with Hansa Research Group Private Limited as a Relationship Manager, he also informed that to increase the TRP of India Today and several other channels, he used to instigate and offer money to panel homes, where BAR-o-Meter installed with the help of other several people. They asked me to visit their office for more understanding.”
The FIR filed in the TRP scam case
The FIR further states in November 2019, Vishal had received a call from an unknown person named Mr Vinay. Vinay asked him to approach 5 panel homes in Mumbai to ask them to watch the India Today channel daily for 2 hours. Later Vinay met Vishal and gave him Rs 1000 to distribute among the 5 panel homes, and also game Rs 5000 as a commission for the act. Accordingly, Vishal did the malpractice for 7 months from November 2019 to May 2020. He approached the 5 panel homes, asked them to watch the channel for 2 hours daily.
The FIR filed in the TRP scam case
According the statement given by Vishal Bhandari, the audit team had visited one of the panel homes, and the household had confirmed that they were paid to watch the India Today for minimum 2 hours per day.
After the press conference by Param Bir Singh, Republic TV had said that the complaint didn’t name them, and had said that will file a defamation case against the Mumbai Police Commissioner for taking the channel’s name. Now this FIR in the case supports the stand of Republic TV, implying that the police commissioner was lying in the press conference.
On Thursday, IFCN signatory news and fact-checking sire Newschecker.in posted a tweet saying that the call for boycotting the second season of TV Mirzapur was based on false information. While netizens have decided to boycott Mirzapur 2 on Prime Video over the show’s actor Ali Fazal’s comments celebrating anti-CAA violence, the so-called fact-checking site claimed that the actor’s comments were not linked with the riots.
In a video posted on Twitter, the Newschecker.in also mentioned an OnIndia report on the call to boycotts, saying it is misleading. The site claimed although Ali Fazal supported the anti-CAA protests, he didn’t support the violence that accompanied the protests. Supporting Fazal’s claim that his tweet on 20 December last year was misinterpreted, the side claimed that the tweet was edited to claim that he was supporting violence.
As a proof of this claim, the IFCN signatory site said that the tweet by Ali Fazal was posted in December 2019, while the riots in Delhi took place in February 2020, therefore, he was not talking about the Delhi riots.
The claim by Newschecker.in is hilarious, because nobody claimed that Fazal was celebrating the February riots in his December tweet. In an attempt to shield the actor, the site conveniently forgot that the February riots were not the only riots during the anti-CAA protests in the country from October 2019 to February 2020, several incidents of riots and violence across the country.
On 20 December 2019, Ali Fazal had tweeted “Protests: Suru Majboori mein kiye they, ab maja aa raha hai!!” (started in compulsion, now enjoying it). The tweet that he had deleted later, it is evident that he was referring the violent protests against the CAA that had taken place just days ago in several areas in Delhi. Although the February riots were the most violent riots during the anti-CAA protests, riots had also taken placed in Delhi in December also, which the so-called factcheker seems to be denying now.
In the week before Fazal’s tweet on 20th December, violence during anti-CAA protests had erupted in Seelampur, Trilokpuri, Jamia Nagar, Jamia Millia Islamia University and several other places. The rioters had clashed with police, and had destroyed a large number of public and private properties. Buses and other vehicles burnt by the anti-CAA rioters had gone viral on social media. Riots were still going on in several states even after 20th December, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal etc. In fact, the largest number of riots took place across the country during this period in the name of anti-CAA protests.
Therefore, those who are boycotting Mirzapur 2 are associating Ali Fazal’s comments with the anti-CAA riots in December, they are not linking the same with February riots as Newschecker.in is claiming. Therefore, the IFCN signatory ‘fact-checker’ is actually spreading fake news by making the false allegation.
Competitors of Republic TV were seen in a celebratory mood on social media after the Mumbai Police accused the channel of manipulating its TRP. They were jubilant and quick to offer sermons and lectures as they saw an opportunity to target Arnab Goswami after failing spectacularly in denting his viewership. However, now that the Editor-in-Chief does not appear particularly distressed, at least some of them are losing control of their mental faculties.
Mustafa Shaikh of India Today could be seen on TV huffing and puffing and labouring profoundly while trying to elicit some response from Arnab Goswami on the ‘fake TRP scandal’. The Republic Editor, meanwhile, appeared amused with the whole situation and had two fingers up in a gesture indicating victory.
Mustafa Shaikh was clearly not amused with the whole situation. There he was running around trying to get an answer from Arnab Goswami and all he received in return were smiles and a symbol of victory. Before long, his patience ran out and in an act of sheer desperation, he ripped his heart of his chest (metaphorically, of course) and laid his feelings bare for the whole world to see.
“A simple question, Arnab… A simple question, Arnab… the question we are asking is that Mumbai Police has registered a case against you… what do you have to say? What do you have say…? Mumbai Police has registered a case against you, Arnab..,” wailed Mustafa Shaikh. It was then that Mustafa realised that in order to have the faintest chance of victory, he had to gamble everything he had. It was now or never.
It was then that Mustafa said, “Arnab, the question we are asking is…. It’s a simple question, if you have not done anything wrong, you are innocent… WHY ARE YOU GIVING US THIS TREATMENT? WHY ARE WE BEING FORCED… IF YOU SAY IT’S YOUR VICTORY, WHY DON’T YOU ANSWER THE QUESTIONS, ARNAB?” But in a heartbreaking moment, Arnab Goswami just drove off without even acknowledging his existence.
Now, out of breath and his will crushed, Mustafa Shaikh had no choice but to admit defeat. Humiliated and panting for breath, he finally declared, “Arnab Goswami of Republic TV just now left from his house without answering a single question from us (more huffing and puffing)… with (unintelligible) and Mustafa Shaikh (more huffing and puffing)… for India Today.”
It is unclear whether the whole spectacle was more uncomfortable for Mustafa Shaikh or the India Today anchor in the studio or the viewer who was forced to endure the horror-show. With news coverage such as this, it is not entirely surprising that India Today has extremely low ratings. It was another instance where Arnab Goswami spectacularly defeated India Today, but this time, without even being aware of the journalist’s stellar efforts at trying to corner him.
For those unaware, earlier today, Mumbai police made some sensational claims against some TV channels saying that they were manipulating TRP ratings. In a press conference, Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh had accused three TV channels, including Republic TV, of being involved in manipulating viewership data of BARC by paying those households where Bar-o-meters, the devices that track TV viewership, are installed.
Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan passed away today evening after battling health issues. His son Chirag Paswan took to Twitter to share the news.
पापा….अब आप इस दुनिया में नहीं हैं लेकिन मुझे पता है आप जहां भी हैं हमेशा मेरे साथ हैं। Miss you Papa… pic.twitter.com/Qc9wF6Jl6Z
The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader and Rajya Sabha member had recently underwent heart surgery in a Delhi hospital. On October 4th Chirag Paswan had tweeted informing that his father was undergoing treatment in hospital. “For the last many days dad is getting treated in a hospital. Due to some sudden developments on Saturday evening, an operation of his heart had to be conducted in the late night. If the need arises, then possibly after a few weeks another operation might be conducted. Thanks to all for standing by me and my family in this hour of struggle,” he had tweeted.
पिछले कई दिनो से पापा का अस्पताल में इलाज चल रहा है।कल शाम अचानक उत्पन हुई परिस्थितियों की वजह से देर रात उनके दिल का ऑपरेशन करना पड़ा।ज़रूरत पड़ने पर सम्भवतः कुछ हफ़्तों बाद एक और ऑपरेशन करना पड़े।संकट की इस घड़ी में मेरे और मेरे परिवार के साथ खड़े होने के लिए आप सभी का धन्यवाद।
Ram Vilas Paswan was born in 1946 in Bihar, and have been a veteran in Bihar and Indian politics. He was Lok Sabha MP for eight terms, and had held the world record for winning an election with highest margin. He started his political career as member of Samyukta Socialist Party and was elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1969. Later, Paswan joined Lok Dal upon its formation in 1974, and became its general secretary. He was arrested during emergency.
After the emergency, he joined Janata Party and won the Lok Sabha election in 1977 from Hajipur. After he won the elections in 1980, 1989, 1996 and 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2014. In 2000, he formed the Lok Janshakti Party, and later joined the UPA government and became an union minister. In 2009 he had left the UPA and formed the fourth alliance with RJD and SP, and lost the Lok Sabha election in that year.
In 2014, the LJP joined the NDA ahead of the general elections, and Paswan became the minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. He continued with the same portfolio in the second Modi government.
On Thursday, the Congress party made allegations against the Modi government claiming irregularities in iron ore pellet export. The party alleged that an iron ore scam worth Rs 40,000 crore took place in the six years during the rule of Modi government.
In a press conference addressed by Pawan Khera, the Congress party alleged that in 2014, the Narendra Modi government changed the export duty on iron ore pellets to zero, which was 30% earlier. He said that while the govt retained the export duty 30% on iron ore, they reduced it to zero on exports of Iron Ore Pellets. He also added that the govt allowed KIOCL (Kudremukh Iron Company Limited) to export iron ore to China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.
The Congress spokesperson added that earlier only KIOCL was allowed to export iron ore, but after the change in policy, several private companies started exporting ore in the form of pellets, and didn’t pay any export duty on it. The Congress spokesperson claimed that the private companies didn’t have any permission to export iron ore, and they not only exported pellets, but also evaded tax on it. He said that the quantum of the scam was Rs 40,000 crore, and the companies evaded Rs 12,000 crore in taxes.
But these claims by the Congress party are false and baseless. According to govt sources, these are unsubstantiated claims which reflect the party’s “sole motive to kill India’s exports and hurt our domestic industry.”
First, the Congress party alleged that export duty on Iron ore pellet was removed in 2014, but that is completely false, because it was the UPA government which had started the zero duty on pellets in 2011 itself. In the budget speech for 2011-12, the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had announced, “Full exemption from export duty is being provided to iron ore pellets to encourage the value addition process for fines.” In the same budget, export duty for all other types of iron ore were changed to 20 per cent ad valorem.
The second claim that only Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited is allowed to export iron ore pellets is also totally wrong. Ministry of Law and Justice has not made any such rule as claimed by the Congress party. The fact is, Government of India has only referred the matter to Law and Justice for their opinion. The matter is further under consideration for the views of competent authority. No decision has been taken yet on barring other companies from exporting iron ore pallets.
The biggest lie by the Congress party on the matter was that KIOCL was the only company exporting iron ore pellets before 2014. Export of iron ore pellets were never an exclusive right of KIOCL, and it was always free, after the sector was opened up in 1992 during economic linearisation. There was, however, a restriction that only KIOCL could export pellets produced by it. This means, while others were allowed to export pellets freely, it was not the case for KIOCL. In fact, the company didn’t even export any pellet between August 2011 and August 2014, during the UPA rule.
In 2014, the Modi government changed the rule for KIOCL to export pellets manufactured by it. As per the amended rule, KIOCL was allowed to export its own manufactured iron ore pellets either by itself or through any entity authorized by them for the purpose. It didn’t mention anything about allowing private entities, which were already allowed. As can be seen in the notification, the earlier export policy for KIOCL was STE (State Trading Enterprise), which was changed to Free. This means, earlier KIOCL was allowed to export pellets only through PSUs, but now they are allowed to authorise any entity for this purpose. This rule is only about pellet made by KIOCL, this does not talk about any private company exporting pellets as the Congress is alleging.
The data for the Iron Ore Pellet from 2004 to 2014 exposes the lies of Congress party. India exported 2.09 lakh MT of Iron Ore Pellet in 2011-12, 20 MT in the next year, and 17.13 lakh MT in 2013-14, in the years when KIOCL didn’t export any pellet.
Export of Iron Ore Pellets
This shows other entities were exporting pellets during UPA govt, and it was not something that started after Modi govt came to power. A total of 1.4 lakh crore tonnes of Iron-Ore Pellets were exported during Congress-led UPA Government, and from 2011 onwards, the export duty on the same was zero.
In fact, it is intriguing that in the same year when export duty on iron ore pellet was made zero, state owned KIOCL stopped export pellets. This means, only other entities benefited from the zero export duty regime during the UPA govt, not KICO. The company restarted export pellets in August 2014, 3 months after Modi govt came to power.
Therefore, the allegations made by the Congress party claiming a scam on iron ore pellets are completely baseless. Zero export duty on pellets were started during UPA govt, and entities other than KIOCL were exporting pellets during the Congress-led UPA govt.
