Arnab Goswami took theatrics of his version of TV journalism to a new level on Monday night when he launched a tirade against senior journalist Shekhar Gupta before announcing his resignation on LIVE TV from the Editors’ Guild of India. Goswami’s announcement left his group of panelists stunned and made him trend on Twitter.
Goswami was discussing the silence by ‘liberals’ on the mob-lynching of three people including two Hindu sadhus in Maharashtra’s Palghar. The Republic TV founder was also unhappy over the silence by a few journalists including Gupta, who heads the Editors’ Guild, on the spread of fake news by certain media outlets.
Launching his tirade against Gupta, Goswami said, “I would say, Shekhar Gupta you hear it from me first. Whatever remaining credibility of the Editors’ Guild of India, has been destroyed by its abject silence.” Goswami then asked his guests to pause briefly because he intended to make an announcement. This was about his resignation from the Editors’ Guild of India.
Goswami said, “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.”
His announcement drew instant applause from his agreeable guests, who were seen clapping in the studio. Goswami said that the Editors’ Guild of India was a ‘group of has-beens.’
He also asked his viewers if certain Bollywood stars would be silent had the victims of Palghar lynching been non-Hindus. He said, “Let me ask you my dear viewers. If this had happened in a state run by the BJP and if instead of Hindus the ones who’d been lynched, let me be very direct about it, if they had been from any minority community, then would Naseeruddin Shah, Aparna Sen and Anurag Kashyap and all those lots and the award wapsi gang, would they have gone berserk today?”
Three people including two sadhus explained by Maharashtra Home Ministerwere lynched to death on suspicion of being thieves in Palgahr on Thursday. However, as Anil Deshmukh and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, both the victims and the attackers belonged to the same religion.