Tag: Republic TV

  • Arnab Goswami had conspired with BARC CEO to boost Republic TRP: Police

    The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai Police on Tuesday filed a third chargesheet before a magistrate #39;s court here in the alleged fake Television Ratings Points (TRP) scam.

  • Modi the person through which Balakot information went to Arnab: Rahul lashes out at Republic TV chief

    By PTI
    KARUR: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the “person through which” prior information on India’s air strikes in Balakot in Pakistan in 2019 was made available to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami.

    The Congress MP, however, did not provide evidence to back up his claim.

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also did not immediately respond to the unfounded claim.

    Addressing a roadshow here during his final day of election campaign in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, he said only five people including the PM and the Defence Minister would have prior information of the planned strikes.

    “Some days back it came out that a journalist knew about the air strikes in Balakot. Three days before the (Indian) air force bombed Pakistan, an Indian journalist was told it was going to happen,” he said.

    This meant the lives of our IAF pilots were put at ‘risk,’ he said.

    “Now, five people in this world knew about Balakot (air strikes). Prime Minister of India, the Defence minister of India, the National Security Adviser and the Chief of the Air Force and the Home minister.”

    “Nobody else in the world knew about Balakot before it happened. Now I want to understand why an enquiry has not started on who told this journalist about Balakot before it happened. The reason is that one of these five people told this man. One of these five people betrayed our Air Force,” he charged.

    He alleged that “one of these people put the lives of our pilots in danger.”

    “If the Prime Minister did not do it then why is he not ordering an enquiry. Think about it. The only reason that the Prime Minister has not ordered an enquiry is because he is the person through which that message has gone to this journalist,” Gandhi claimed.

    Else, the PM should investigate and tell which one of these five people did it, Gandhi demanded.

    Purported chats between Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) head Partho Dasgupta, which mentioned that the former was privy to the 2019 air strike, by the IAF on the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot had surfaced recently.

    The IAF had carried out the strike deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019 in the wake of killing of 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district then by Pakistan- based Jaish-e-Mohammed.

    Gandhi also hit out at Modi once again over the Sino-India face-off, saying “today the Chinese army is sitting inside Indian territory.”

    “The Prime Minister has said he has a 56 inch chest, big chest. Today the Chinese army is sitting inside Indian territory. Thousand km of Indian land has been taken by the Chinese,” he said.

    He alleged that Modi cannot say the word China as he “does not have the courage to say” so.

    “You look at his speeches for the last 3-4 months, he does not say the word China. When the Chinese entered our territory he lied that nobody has come. After some days the Army and Defence minister said the Chinese army had come into Indian territory,” Gandhi added.

    “And the only reason the Chinese have the guts and the courage to come into this country is because Narendra Modi has destroyed the economy and weakened (the country) by dividing it,” he charged.

  • TRP scam: Uddhav government starts gathering information on chats between Arnab Goswami, ex-BARC CEO

    By PTI
    NASHIK: The Maharashtra government is gathering information about the leaked social media chats between Arnab Goswami and BARC ex-CEO Partho Dasgupta in which highly sensitive things like Balakot airstrike and Pulwama attack were mentioned, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has said, adding the issue will be discussed by the Cabinet on Tuesday.

    The purported chats widely reported in media mentioned that Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic TV, was privy to the Balakot air strikes.

    Speaking to reporters here on Monday night, Deshmukh said how Goswami came to know about such sensitive information is a big question.

    “We are gathering information about the leaked chats between Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta. Some highly sensitive things including the Balakot airstrike and the Pulwama attack have been mentioned in the chats. How Arnab came to know about such sensitive information is a big question,” Deshmukh said.

    He said the state Cabinet is scheduled to meet on Tuesday in Mumbai.

    “After the meeting, a decision about this issue will be taken,” Deshmukh said.

    ALSO READ | Bhupesh Baghel seeks SC-monitored probe in Arnab Goswami’s purported chats with ex-BARC chief

    Earlier in the day, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) asked the government to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the purported chats between Goswami and Dasgupta.

    Dasgupta, who was arrested in the fake Television Rating Point (TRP) case, is now in the ICU of state-run JJ hospital in central Mumbai.

    A diabetic, he was rushed to the hospital from the Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai on Saturday after his blood sugar levels went up on Friday midnight.

    The Mumbai police had earlier told the court that Goswami had allegedly bribed Dasgupta with lakhs of rupees to ramp up Republic TV’s viewership.

    Meanwhile, the home minister attended a review meeting of the police department organised at the Maharashtra Police Academy (MPA) here.

    ALSO READ | National security issues reduced to ‘TRP tamasha’: Mehbooba attacks Arnab Goswami

    On the occasion, Deshmukh lauded the facilities available at the MPA and expressed satisfaction about the low crime rate in Nashik.

    Deshmukh hailed the successful initiative of Pratap Dighavkar, Special IG, Nashik Range, to give back the money of farmers duped by unscrupulous traders.

    “We will try to implement this measure at the state level,” the home minister said.

  • Bhupesh Baghel seeks SC-monitored probe in Arnab Goswami’s purported chats with ex-BARC chief

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday sought a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the purported chats between Republic TV Editor-in- Chief Arnab Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) head Partho Dasgupta.

    Asked about the purported chats widely reported in the media which mentioned that Goswami was privy to the 2019 Balakot air strikes in Pakistan, Baghel said the matter pertains to national security.

    He was speaking to reporters here before leaving on a two-day visit to Assam, where he is a Congress observer for overseeing campaign management in the poll-bound north-eastern state.

    On the ‘chatgate’, the CM said, This is dangerous for the country’s security.

    How come such highly confidential information was known to a journalist? “If it has happened then the judiciary and the NIA should take suo motu cognisance of the matter.”

    Baghel asked the Centre to clarify its stand.

    The Centre should clarify that how he (Goswami) had information about it and why it is being covered up.

    The matter should be probed under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court as it is linked to the nation’s security.

    “There should be no politics on the issue and an impartial inquiry should be conducted into the matter,” he said.

    Dasgupta, who was arrested in the fake Television Rating Point (TRP) case, is now in the ICU of state-run JJ hospital in central Mumbai.

    The Mumbai police had earlier told the court that Goswami had allegedly bribed Dasgupta to ramp up Republic TV’s viewership.

    Meanwhile, Baghel slammed the BJP over notices served by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to farmer leaders protesting against the Centre’s new agriculture laws, and asserted the saffron partys attempts to “suppress” cultivators movement would not scare them.

    Whenever a protest takes place, the BJP tries to defame it.

    They have been labeling this movement (against new farm laws) as ‘Pakistan-backed, China-backed and Khalistani- supported’.

    “Despite all these allegations, farmers have so far stood firmly on their demand. Now, those who are heading the farmers protest are served notices by the NIA.”

    The Congress leader said the protesting farmers will not be scared into withdrawing their agitation.

    “No matter how much they (BJP) try to suppress their movement, I dont believe that farmers will be afraid and retreat,” Baghel added.

  • NCP demands JPC on purported chats between Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, BARC head Partho Dasgupta

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday asked the government to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the purported chats between Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council head Partho Dasgupta.

    Referring to the purported chats widely reported in media which mentioned that Goswami was privy to the Balakot airstrikes, NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said, “It is extremely shocking and disturbing to know how issues related to national security have been used to gain TRPs.”

    Tapase said he will meet Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday on the issue and seek clarification from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the ‘chatgate’.

    “The question also arises how Arnab was privy to such sensitive information. The Ministry of Home Affairs has to identify the source and immediately take action,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Probe Balakot air strike info leak – Opposition

    Goswami has been at the forefront in maligning the image of the Mumbai police and also the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state, Tapase claimed.

    “In his TV debates, he tried to give a communal angle to the Palghar incident. The Sushant Singh Rajput death case was blown out of proportion and a false narrative was set. All this was done with the sole intention to destabilise the MVA government,” Tapase said.

    The BJP should clarify its position on Arnab Goswami, he said.

    Dasgupta, who was arrested in the fake Television Rating Point (TRP) case, is now in the ICU of state-run JJ hospital in central Mumbai.

    A diabetic, he was rushed to the hospital from the Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai on Saturday after his blood sugar levels went up on Friday midnight.

    The Mumbai police had earlier told the court that Goswami had allegedly bribed Dasgupta with lakhs of rupees to ramp up Republic TV’s viewership.

  • Probe Balakot air strike info leak: Opposition

    By Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Opposition parties, mainly the Congress, have demanded an investigation into the purported WhatsApp chat between Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) CEO Partho Dasgupta in which the former is alleged to have told the incarcerated executive that India would strike at Pakistan three days before the actual airstrike against terror targets at Balakot in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

    The purported conversation, on February 23, 2019, revealed that the government had planned the airstrike “in a way” that the people would be “elated” at “something major”.

    Three days later, on February 26, the IAF conducted an aerial strike at a terror training centre in Balakot of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in retaliation for the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel had died.

    The Opposition said the alleged leak of classified military information in advance amounted to treason and they should be prosecuted. The WhatsApp chats are part of the Mumbai Police’s charge sheet, submittedbefore a court, in connection with the case of alleged manipulation of TRPs by news channels, including Republic TV.

    Demanding a probe into the purported conversation, senior Congress leader and minister in the Chhattisgarh government T S Singh Deo tweeted: “It’s a major security lapse if our military secrets & strategies on Balakot strike were leaked by someone in Central Govt to pvt players for their benefit. This calls for an investigation & prosecution of culprits. Leaking of classified millitary information amounts to treason.”

    Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi suspected that “someone very senior in the government” could be leaking the confidential information.

    “Arnab’s chats dated 23.02.2019 refer to sharing of Intel reaction along the Pak border. It means someone very senior in Govt is leaking highly confidential info which may endanger the lives of our soldiers & so that mercenary considerations can add to TRPs,” he tweeted.

    Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the party has decided to meet the state home minister, Anil Deshmukh, with a complaint against Goswami over the issue. Meanwhile, Dasgupta was admitted in the government-run JJ hospital late on Friday night. He was arrested and lodged in Taloja jail.

    Sanjay Surase, superintendent of the hospital, said the sugar level of Dasgupta had spiked and the oxygen level had come down.

    “He is admitted in ICU and he is stable now. He is diabetic. We have given him oxygen and are closely monitor his health; there is nothing to worry,” Surase said.

    Dasgupta’s daughter, Pratyusha Dasgupta, tweeted that her father was brought in an unconscious condition from the jail to the hospital. 

    “But no one from our family was informed about my father’s health… My father was suffering numerous ailments that include diabetic, hypertension, and ankylosing spondylities and autoimmune disorder. He has been ill treated and traumatized, therefore he should be shifted to private hospital. We are ready to bear the cost of his medical expenses,” she tweeted.

  • Call for high-level probe in TRP scam

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Congress on Friday demanded a high-level probe into the purported WhatsApp chats between Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami and BARC ex-CEO Parth Dasgupta. These chats formed a part of the 3,400-page additional chargesheet submitted by the Mumbai police on Monday last, but surfaced in the public domain on Friday.

    Speaking to TNIE, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that the chats between Goswami and Dasgupta clearly showed that government machinery was used to suppress the TRP scam.“When Mumbai police were probing the scam, several shocking details had emerged.

    However, to suppress the probe, a separate case was registered in Uttar Pradesh and later it was handed to the Enforcement Directorate. This was nothing, but an attempt to control the probe, where the role of BJP leaders was exposed,” Sawant said.

    Sawant said that the TRP and government system were rigged to misguide people and exploit advertisers. “Arnab repeatedly claims that he is close to PMO, AS, and Union ministers. The BJP should clarify who this AS is,” Sawant demanded.

    Republic TV counsel wants ed involvementIn the Bombay HC, Republic TV counsel Harish Salve argued that the TRP scam probe should be handed over to the ED. However, senior advocate Kapil Sibal opposed it claiming ED had no locus 

  • No coercive action against Arnab Goswami till January 29 in TRP case: Mumbai Police

    By PTI
    Mumbai, Jan 15 (PTI) The Mumbai police told the Bombay High Court on Friday that it will not take any coercive action till January 29 against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and other employees of ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd in the alleged fake TRP scam case.

    ARG is the parent company that runs all Republic TV channels.

    A division bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale also extended till January 29, the interim relief for employees of the complainant company in the case, Hansa Research Group, by directing the police to ensure they are called for inquiry for not more than two days a week.

    The bench also took on record the status report filed by the Mumbai police in its investigation in the alleged scam which came to light late last year.

    ARG media had approached the HC last year seeking, among other things, that the police be restrained from taking coercive action against its employees.

    On Friday, ARG’s counsel senior advocate Harish Salve told the court that the allegations of the Mumbai police that Goswami paid bribes to rig TRP numbers was “nonsensical.”

    Salve said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered a money laundering case related to the alleged TRP scam and was probing the same.

    He said the HC must call for a status report from the ED, too, and if the contents of the status reports filed by the Mumbai police and the central agency differed much, the court would realise the case against ARG was malafide.

    The ED’s counsel, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, told the bench that the central agency had readied its status report and the court must accept it in a sealed cover.

    The Mumbai police’s counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, however, opposed the ED’s submissions.

    Sibal raised questions on the ED’s locus standi in the matter.

    He also reminded the court that the financial probe agency was not a party in the case before the HC.

    Salve, however, told the HC that ARG had amended its plea and sought that the ED be impleaded as a party.

    The court then directed Sibal to file his reply to the amended plea and the ED being impleaded, by the next date of hearing.

    While opposing the ED being joined as a party, Sibal went on to question the central agency’s “enthusiasm” to file its status report even before it was impleaded as a party.

    “I have strong objections to the ED appearing in this matter. Why is this enthusiasm….,” Sibal said.

    Salve, however, argued that the police must not have any opposition to the court going through the ED’s report.

    “I dont understand how the State agency is trying to stop a Union agency from filing a report,” Salve said.

    The court, though, refused to take the ED’s status report on record on Friday and said it will consider the same on the next date of hearing.

    On January 6, Sibal had told HC that the Mumbai police will not take any coercive action against Goswami and employees of ARG till January 15.

    On Friday, as the HC granted the police time to file its reply to the amended petition and adjourned the hearing to January 29, Sibal submitted that he had no objection to such protection being extended till then.

    The HC accepted Sibal’s submission.

    ARG Media has filed several pleas and interim applications in the HC urging the court to transfer the probe in the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or any other independent agency.

    The pleas also urge the court to stay in the meanwhile, any further investigation in the case, and to restrain the police from taking any coercive action against the petitioners, their employees, or investors.

    The alleged racket was uncovered in October last year when the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) filed a complaint claiming certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers.

  • Architect suicide case: Arnab Goswami gets more time to amend petition

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted further time to Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami to amend his petition and place on record the charge sheet filed against him and two others in a 2018 case of abetment of suicide of an interior designer.

    Goswami and the two other accused Feroze Shaikh and Nitish Sarda will have to appear before a magistrate court at Alibaug in neighbouring Raigad district of Maharashtra on Thursday, pursuant to summons issued to them in December 2020.

    On December 16, 2020, the magistrate’s court took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by Alibaug police in the case and directed the three accused to appear before it on January 7 to commit the case to a sessions court.

    As the charges invoked in the case are punishable for more than seven years, the trial in the case will have to be conducted by a sessions court.

    In November last year, Goswami filed a petition in the high court, seeking to quash the FIR registered against him by the Alibaug police.

    He later sought to amend his petition so as to challenge the charge sheet filed by the police.

    The same was allowed by the HC in December 2020.

    On Wednesday, advocate Niranjan Mundargi, appearing for Goswami, sought further time to carry out the amendment.

    “The charge sheet is bulky and is in Marathi. We need to translate it to English and hence, we need some more time to do so,” Mundargi said.

    The court accepted it and posted the petition for hearing on February 11.

    Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for accused Nitish Sarda, who has also filed a petition in the HC against the FIR, sought that the court hear his arguments.

    Aggarwal said the accused persons have been asked to appear before the magistrate”s court on Thursday.

    To this, Justice Shinde said, “So appear there. What is going to happen? The trial is not going to start tomorrow.”

    The court posted Sarda”s plea also for hearing on February 11.

    The three accused were arrested by the Alibaug police on November 4, 2020.

    It is the police’s case that architect and interior designer Anvay Naik committed suicide in May 2018 over alleged non-payment of dues by companies of the accused persons.

    Goswami in November last year filed a petition in the HC seeking to quash the FIR, and also sought interim bail.

    The HC on November 9 refused to grant interim bail following which Goswami approached the Supreme Court.

    The SC on November 11 granted interim bail to Goswami.

    The police filed the charge sheet in the case last month. 

     

  • Editorial :- Raajasthaan Aur Uttarapradesh Mein Aaj Hon Chunaav To Sarve Kya Kahate Hain?

    Today two pre-poll surveys have been published in newspapers.
    A survey is of Times Now and CNX, which says that if elections are held today in Rajasthan, the Congress is expected to get 110-120 seats and BJP 70-80 seats in the assembly.
    48 percent of the people said Vasundhara Raje Scindia’s rule was bad and 35 percent of the people said good.
    According to this estimation, Congress may burn flora on Diwali but according to a survey, according to the four-day moonlight for Congress, then according to the estimates of the Lok Sabha.
    These pre-poll surveys of Times Now and CNX say that 79 percent of Rajasthan’s people want to see Modi and 23 percent of Rahul Gandhi becoming prime minister. This means that if today’s Lok Sabha elections are held in Rajasthan, then the Congress will get three times the Lok Sabha seats from the Congress.
    2.
    According to Republic TV, if the elections in the National Assembly elections are held in November, what will be the result?
    Vote share project
    UPA – 7.9
    NDA – 43.9
    OTH-3.5
    Seat share project
    NDA-31
    UPA-5
    Others – 44
    With the countdown of all the important 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and with the crucial assembly elections in five states in the next few weeks, November will be the most important month in deciding which steps will be taken in the general elections in November. Lighting the Republic of TV and seawater highlighting the latest national acceptance ratings, which provides a complete and realistic snapshot of the prevailing countrywide election scenario.
    In the October edition, the last figure of the Republic TV-Citizen National Approval Rating retained the NDA, while the UPA had surpassed some points. In the meantime, other parties, which can weaken one side or the other, combine combined 155 seats. Since then, a lot has happened recently on Wednesday, when the Modi government achieved great power among politics and improving the economy of the country unexpectedly, India achieved its highest ranking on the world, at the global level. Ranked a jump of 23 positions in Rank 77, easy to do business.
    Meanwhile, the Prime Minister dedicated the statue of unity to the country on the 143th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and a few days ago Subhash Chandra Bose and 75th anniversary was celebrated.
    At the same time, Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor continued playing incredible religion cards.
    Rahul Gandhi had said in Gujarat and Karnataka elections that he had a better understanding of Hinduism than there was between BJP and RSS. Tharoor polarized in the other direction after the invention of Hindus in Pakistan, after declaring BJP as a scorpion on Shivling and not removing it from slippers By announcing the removal, good Hindus have provoked nationalist religious Indians with their remarks on the bad Hindus.
    More importantly, the Supreme Court has delayed its hearings in the Ayodhya case and there is a possibility of further delay. This has given an opportunity to unite the Indians who want to build a magnificent Ram Temple on the grand Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
    Now they are emphasizing not only on the government but also the opposition that now there is no delay in the construction of the Ram temple by means of law or through some other medium. That is, now Ramlalla will sit under the shirt rather than the chic.
    Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha has informed that he will bring a personal bill in Parliament to build a Ram temple.
    Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha said, “If I say that I will bring a private member bill to build a Ram temple in Rajya Sabha, what will be the stand of the Congress and the Left parties on it? I want to ask if they are going to support private member bills?
    Mohan Bhagwat has clearly said that either the Supreme Court should hear the daily prayers of the Ram temple and give the decision soon. If the Supreme Court can not do this, then the government should make laws and make the way for the construction of the Ram temple. “