As India’s numero uno journalist continues to languish in judicial custody, thanks to the Uddhav Thackeray government’s vendetta politics, the timing of Arnab’s brutal arrest reeks of an evil scheme with a strategically chosen time period to make sure that not only Arnab totally breaks down but also ensure that Republic TV is forced to shut down.
In the wee hours of November 4, as the nation woke up with bated breath to catch the US Presidential elections, suddenly the US feed which was being broadcasted by Republic came to a screeching halt as news poured in of Mumbai Police knocking the doors of Arnab’s house. The aftermath was truly shocking as Arnab and his son were allegedly assaulted with the former being paraded as if he was a hardened criminal.
Understandably, Republic TV had to forgo the coverage of the all-important US Presidential elections which would have dealt the channel a massive blow in terms of the numbers. The timing of Arnab’s arrest was immaculately chosen so as to ensure minimum coverage of Arnab’s arrest.
The timing of the arrest also made sure that Arnab was absent from both the Bihar exit polls and counting day, thereby delivering a massive blow to the channel’s viewership and in turn, advertising revenues. As the country was glued to their TV sets for counting day, as is the norm, advertisers were expected to spend more to grab more eyeballs for their brand, Republic was again financially hit here. Even on counting day, the Mumbai Police arrested Republic Media’s AVP Ghanshyam Singh so as to ensure there’s minimal coverage for this arrest too.
Another important fact is the upcoming Diwali break where the honourable courts will be going on a break from November 13 and will only reopen on November 16. The Uddhav Thackeray government has set itself a sinister goal of keeping Arnab in jail during Diwali and will use various delaying tactics to ensure the same.
Diwali, which is the biggest Hindu festival meant to be spent with family will likely see Arnab spend his Diwali in jail away from his family in an evil scheme to break him and his family.
In the eventuality of Arnab having an extended stay in jail, Republic TV will be severely hit as advertising spends skyrocket during Diwali, however, Republic without his honcho and in fact without content, makes a comparatively less appealing prospect to potential advertisers.
In earlier successive sting operations, Republic had exposed how the end goal of the Maharashtra government was to arrest Arnab Goswami and forced the channel to down its shutters.
Perhaps this explains Uddhav’s decision to go after Arnab right now and not during the Bandra station incident, Palghar lynching case or SSR where he personally targeted Uddhav and his son Aaditya. Uddhav bides his time to ensure that Arnab is broken to pieces and ensure that he never stands up against him or his minions.