Republic TV founder Arnab Goswami on Thursday issued a chilling warning to not take his support for granted as he lashed out at saffron party functionaries during a debate on the PMC Bank Scam.
Addressing a BJP-sympathiser guest during the show, Goswami warned him not to cross the line. He said, “This is my studio, so don’t cross the line with me.”
When the said pro-BJP guest took his name and said ‘Arnab is wrong,’ this left the Republic TV founder infuriated. He said, “He took my name in vain. I am now going to chop him into pieces. He questioned my credibility. Put your phone down. Let me say this. If anyone in this country who believes that a hardworking, tax-paying, salaried, middle-class of this country will be taken for granted, think again. We are not here, nobody gives blind support to anyone. I don’t give a damn to any political party.”
Goswami was in no mood to give an easy time to the BJP functionaries on the show. He asked former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, “Kirit Somaiya, how can you continue to be in a party that continues to support Sardar Tara Singh, whose son is a director in the PMC Bank, which means part of the loot went to a BJP leader. The loot happened in the BJP time… BJP has a bad habit. Any issue you raise (they say) Congress Ke Time Mein Hua. No No No, Kirit Somaiya. This happened during your government…And your party’s Sardar Tara Singh had the guts that he came on my programme and said ‘I will deal with everyone.’ Whos’s this criminal Tara Singh?”
Unable to get a firm response from the former BJP MP, Goswami said, “If this was Ahmed Patel’s son, you would be on the streets.”
Goswami then targeted another BJP functionary Shaina NC as he said, “Shaina, I accuse and I am choosing my words very carefully. I accuse the BJP-Shiv Sena government of Maharashtra for (sic) misleading the people. NDA and BJP people told the people that ye bahut achcha bank hai, paisa daalo is mein. I ask you Shaina. Who gave the PMC Bank in 2018, the Best Bank Of The Year award? Tell me Shaina.”
Shaina NC said that rules were manipulated by people associated with the bank adding that the assets of the accused had been attached by the authorities.
This is the most stinging attack by Goswami against the BJP yet. His public criticism for the saffron party assumes significance in light of the fact that his TV channel was launched with the help of BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekahr in 2017,
The Mumbai Police last week arrested the father-son promoters of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) after they were accused of defaulting on a loan of Rs 6,500 crore owed to the crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank. The company owned by Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan reportedly sponsored Kolkata Knight Riders – an IPL cricket team owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, was the organiser of a glorious Mumbai fashion event, HDIL Couture Week India and also had stakes in Adhikari Brothers’ firms and Hindi news channel Live India.
More recently, TV actress Nupur Alankar had said that the PMC crisis had forced her to sell her jewellery since she was unable to withdraw her money from the bank.
Alankar said that she was facing a huge financial crisis because of the government’s cap on the withdrawal of her own money. The government had first announced the cap to be Rs 1,000, which was later increased to Rs 25,000 per customer for over a period of six months. The actress said, “I had accounts in other banks, too, which I transferred to this bank a few years ago. Little did I know that my family members and my life savings will be frozen like this… How am I expected to survive without money? Should I mortgage my house now? Why is there a cap on my own hard-earned money? I have been diligently paying income tax, so why am I suffering today?”
You can watch Arnab Goswami’s show in question here.