Arnab Goswami on Monday night appeared to confirm the legitimacy of the alleged leaked WhatsApp chat between him and the ex-CEO of BARC, Partho Dasgupta. Appearing on his TV channel to moderate a discussion show on the topic, Goswami said that he had not shared any national secrets by predicting the Balakot airstrikes. This was after the Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that his government intended to discuss the matter with utmost urgency on Tuesday.
Addressing his agreeable guests, Goswami said, “If I had called you or Abhijeet or Sushant, even you would have said something big is going to happen because we have faith in the Indian forces. Addressing another guest, Goswami said, “Mohandas Pai, it’s being speculated that I destroyed India’s national interests by ‘allegedly revealing’ that after Pulwama, something big was going to happen. What did these people expect?” Goswami continued, “Did they expect something small to happen?
Goswami also became emotional on the allegations that “When I am being targeted by not people in Pakistan but people in Indian media, by the Congress party. I am being told that I am a sellout and I have compromised national security.”
He added, “I want to say that I don’t want any certificate if I have the love and trust of General Bakshi and Air Marshall PK Barbora.”
Goswami also revealed that he was joking about the leaked WhatsApp chat with his colleagues in the office asking which page of the leak they were on.
Goswami’s comments came hours after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the alleged leaked WhatsApp chat between Goswami and Dasgupta was proof that his country was not behind the Pulwama terror attack. Khan had said, “In 2019, I spoke at UNGA on how India’s fascist Modi govt used the Balakot crisis for domestic electoral gains. Latest revelations from communication of an Indian journalist, known for his warmongering, reveal the unholy nexus between the Modi govt & Indian media that led to dangerous military adventurism to win an election in utter disregard for the consequences of destabilising the entire region. Pakistan averted a larger crisis by a responsible, measured response to Balakot. Yet, Modi govt continues to turn India into a rogue state.”
The controversy was triggered by the leak of the WhatsApp chat between Goswami and Dasgupta. In the 500-page WhatsApp chat, allegedly leaked by the Mumbai Police, Goswami was seen predicting the Balakot airstrikes before the military exercise took place. Goswami also faced flak for celebrating the Pulwama terror attack saying that his channel had won ‘like crazy.’
