Insulting ISRO scientists and a halfhearted apology – NDTV journo Pallava Bagla needs to be banned

As the nation rallied around to support ISRO for their tremendous efforts and determination, Pallava Bagla decided to scream at an ISRO scientist because his entitled self didn’t want to ask questions to anyone below Dr K Sivan, the Chief of ISRO.

Pallava Bagla who claims to be a ‘journalist’ at NDTV showcased his arrogance which seems to be in the DNA of NDTV at an unfortunate hour by deciding to shout at Mr D P Karnik, an ISRO scientist during the media interaction. Bagla’s entitled self couldn’t withstand the presence of someone below Dr Sivan and further went to humiliate him by calling him a ‘junior scientist’.

One can see Karnik’s discomfort at Bagla’s arrogant statements and the tone. Bagla screamed at the top of his voice to demand Dr Sivan’s presence at the media interaction as it was the ‘tradition’ for the ISRO Chief to address the media when something goes wrong. Our scientists at ISRO have made us all proud by Chandrayaan-2 and one can only wonder the amount of hard work that the scientists had to put in for such an ambitious mission. The mission was 95% successful and ISRO lost touch with Vikram lander just 2.1 kilometers away from the Lunar Surface. The grief was palpable on the face of the scientists and Bagla only went on to worsen such a delicate situation by screaming and insulting ISRO and demanding the ISRO Chief to cater to the whims and fancies of NDTV. After widespread social media outrage, Bagla was forced to tweet his apology to Mr Karnik and ISRO but his apology found no takers. My heart goes out to Mr Karnik who was visibly intimidated by the screams of a deplorable human being like Bagla.

In his half hearted apology, Bagla claimed that his behaviour didn’t conform with the standards of the organisation he works for i.e. NDTV. On the contrary, his behaviour was completely in tune with the journalistic standards of NDTV. NDTV is infamous for furthering their anti-India and towing Pakistan’s line which was quite evident from their coverage on Article 370 and Pakistan’s ruling party, PTI was often found to quote NDTV to further their agenda on Kashmir. It seems that Bagla was venting out his frustration on ISRO and its scientists as the promoters of NDTV are currently under investigation over an allegation of tax fraud and money laundering.

While Bagla claims to be an expert in space and technology, a video clipping has went viral where Bagla is seen interviewing Dr Sivan on the eve of launch of Chandrayaan-2, which showcases Bagla’s brilliant knowledge about the space and its intricacies as he is seen asking Dr Sivan on how many Astronauts ISRO is planning to send on Chandrayaan-2 which happens to be an unmanned and automated mission. Today’s incidents are a testament to the fact that NDTV doesn’t care about knowledge let alone journalistic integrity before hiring. If someone is privileged, entitled, arrogant and doesn’t mind peddling anti-India agenda regularly, then NDTV is the perfect fit.

While journalists like Aditya Raj Kaul and Barkha Dutt too slammed Bagla for his conduct, Wall Street Journal writer Sadanand Dhume who has earned his name in the West by constantly criticising India and its government chose to defend the undefendable on Twitter and claimed that its a propaganda to showcase NDTV in a poor light and claimed that Bagla has every right to hear an explanation from the head of the organisation since India is a free country. No one is questioning Bagla’s right to question Dr Sivan but the manner and the timing of his outburst is not expected from a journalist. It is easy for Dhume to sit out of Washington and criticise us for slamming Bagla. In this moment of heartbreak, Bagla was crass and insulting and deserves to be reprimanded. Dhume in his thread goes out to claim that Bagla is being made a scapegoat for doing his job and addressed those slamming Bagla as ‘mobs’. Irony died a thousand deaths today when Dhume of all people decided to give a lecture on journalism.

Bagla is someone who seems to be drowned with the access and the privileges that have been granted to him especially under the heydays of the UPA government and seems to be under shock when the privileges have been denied to him. His hideous tone against some of the most humble men and women was not at all journalistic. This was a glitch in the mission which was seen by the whole country and not about accountability. Bagla and the folks at NDTV have failed on every aspect of the meaning of journalism and his access to ISRO must be restricted as he has dared to insult ISRO and its scientists, who have time and again made us heart swell with pride with their achievements.