‘Shekhar Gupta has compromised Indian journalism,’ Arnab resigns from Editors Guild live on air over fake news

Arnab Goswami, the firebrand Editor in Chief of boxing channel Republic TV, has announced his resignation from Editors Guild of India over the silence on media’s double standards on Palghar mob lynching. He also accused Guild’s president- Shekhar Gupta of leading the compromise of Indian journalism.

“When Arnab says,

I hereby on live television resign from the Editor’s Guild of India and I accuse you Shekhar Gupta of leading the compromise of Indian journalism. 

A big fan of Arnab, he speaks the truth proud of him,” tweeted a user with video clipping of Arnab making the announcement.

“Whatever remaining credibility of the Editors’ Guild of India, has been destroyed by its abject silence on a series of fake news stories,” said Arnab in live television in his 9 PM debate show.

“The Editors’ Guild of India has become a self-serving organisation. And I hereby on LIVE television resign. Listen to me. I’ve been a member of the Editors’ Guild of India for a long time. I hereby on live television resign from the Editors’ Guild of India for its absolute compromise with its editorial ethics. For being an organisation, which is only operating in self-interests. And I accuse you Shekhar Gupta of leading the compromise on Indian journalism by not speaking up against the incidents like this,” he added.

His resignation won the praise of many journalists who belong to the right side of the political spectrum.

“Arnab Goswami has resigned from Editor’s Guild, which has no credibility left, and its bias is not even subtle. Not even a word on #PalgharLynching by the Guild. They have been silent on fake news stories during COVID. Courage to speak truth is absent,” tweeted Pradeep Bhandari, a pollster and frequent guest at Arnab’s debate show.

“More power to you, #ArnabGoswami. The Editors’ Guilt of India is a hypocritical, self-serving, self-important, toothless joke…an extension of the Lutyens cabal,” tweeted Abhijit Majumder, a well-known journalist.

The Palghar incident came to light yesterday on Twitter as the video was met with outrage and anger which forced the mainstream media to take notice and the Thackerays to issue a statement. However, the incident took place on the night of April 17. The mainstream media cleverly attempted to cover up the incident so that their poster boy and world’s ‘best’ Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray doesn’t have to face the heat.

On April 17, Hindustan Times began the whitewashing of the incident as it ran an article with the headline, “Mistaken for thieves, 3 lynched to death by 200-strong mob in Maharashtra’s Palghar”. In the article, Hindustan Times continue to address the victims as “unidentified persons”.

God forbid, had the victims of such a barbaric act would have involved people from the minority community that too in the presence of the police, the same media would have been hyperventilating and the Rana Ayyubs of the world would have wasted no time in writing editorials in Washington Post about how the Modi government is carrying out a genocide of Muslims.

Of course, the Rana Ayyubs of the world have maintained radio silence. To make matters worse, mainstream journalists like Rajdeep Sardesai are trying to downplay the incident and instead of blaming the right-wing. The same Rajdeep Sardesai would have suffered a glorious meltdown on Twitter had the victims belonged to the minority community.

The mainstream media had earlier claimed that the Sadhus and their driver were lynched by the mob on suspicions of theft, and the police too say that the mob mistook the Sadhus and their driver, who were headed towards Gujarat to attend the last rites of their Guru, Mahant Ramagiri, for thieves and killed them due to such rumours.

https://twitter.com/Iyervval/status/1251959886843265024?s=20

The fact that the Sadhus were robbed by the murderous mob has also been cleverly hidden by the media. AAP worker and serial propagandist Dhruv Rathee simply couldn’t hide his glee as the two Sadhus were murdered while a deranged man like Anurag Kashyap had the audacity to blame the incident on the “prevalent environment of hatred”. Incidentally had such an incident took place in Yogi’s Uttar Pradesh, Kashyap and his colleague, Anubhav Sinha would have gone on an explicitly driven rant against the government.

Miffed over the silence of Editors Guild on the Palghar incident Arnab Goswami announced his resignation from Editors’ Guild on live TV.