Arnab Goswami, the Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV who was jailed earlier and facing charges in the TRP ratings tampering scandal is now mired in a new controversy. His aim to put the Republic Channel ahead of everyone else, of which he is the executive editor, has landed him in dire consequences. He is now facing allegations for obtaining and disclosing classified military information, which is to be held confidential under the Official Secrets Act.
Police reveal Arnab’s WhatsApp chat details
Coming to the TRP rating scandal. Partho Das Gupta, the Ex-CEO of the Broadcast Research Audience Council (BARC) who served from 2013 to 2019, was arrested by Mumbai Police in 2020. This led to the police to recover nearly 500 pages of WhatsApp chat details allegedly exchanged between Arnab Goswami and the former BARC-CEO. Arnab also dragged the PMO along with Union Minister Prakash Javadekar into the affair, has recently come under fire for sending the country’s military secrets to others on WhatsApp. Suspicions have also been raised over information on surgical strike being shared on WhatsApp chat three days prior to the surgical strikes.
It is known that Pakistani terrorists carried out a suicide attack targeting Indian CRPF jawans near Pulwama Division’s Lethipora on February 14, 2019. Sadly, 40 jawans were martyred in the attack. This led to the whole country condemn the dastardly attacks with the public demanding that Pakistan be taught a lesson. In this context, India even conducted surgical strikes. The first surgical strike was held following a terrorist attack on an Indian military base in Uri on September 18, 2016. A large number of Pakistani soldiers and militants were reported to be killed in the September 29, 2016 attack by India. Later, the Pulwama incident led to a second surgical strike on February 26, 2019, wherein Indian troops targeted Balakot terrorist training camps in Pakistani territory about 50 km from the Line of Control. It was during these attacks that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was held by Pakistan, only to be released later.
How did the information leak happen?
In order to obtain classified information requires careful planning, punctuality, confidentiality and vigilance. This only happens when there is prior coordination within those organisations that work for it. However, the real question is how Arnab Goswami knew about such confidential information three days prior. Even if Arnab Goswami knew, what is the point of disclosing such sensitive information to others? This issue has now become a topic of discussion. Usually, only the Chiefs of the Armed Forces, Chief of Defence Staff, top leaders at the Centre, the RAW and the heads of operation teams would be able to know such information. Speculations are that even for those involved in this operation the information would go only a few moments before, which means the information was leaked in the initial stage. It is being doubted that the political parties are the reason for this.
What is the agenda?
Arnab Goswami the Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV since its inception in 2017 has been known for his outspoken nature especially against the opposition. He even had to face severe criticism from Congress ranks, for having addressed Sonia Gandhi by her Italian name. At the same time, Congress questioned Republic TV for not having aired a case which was registered against a person for calling the UP CM by his real name. Without any direct association, the news aired on his TV channel, the kind of news and the priority being given to the leaders and the BJP ruled states, also to the Non-BJP ruled states is being discussed among political circles. Recently, the Maharashtra Police even pulled out of the TRP scandal. In this context, the BJP ranks condemned the arrest of Arnab Goswami citing it as illegal, even more than journalists. Leaving aside allegations, doubts and opinions, the big debate at present is the answer to the question of who was supporting Arnab.
