In a relief to Republic TV founder Arnab Goswami, the police in Meghalaya have put on hold an FIR filed against him for launching a wilful defamatory diatribe against Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The latest relief for Goswami came days after FIR actress Kavita Kaushik slammed him for his rant against Sonia Gandhi.
The complaint against Goswami, who hails from Assam, was filed by the Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress soon after the controversial anchor faced widespread condemnation for communalising the lynchings of two Hindu monks in Maharashtra’s Palghar last month.
Cops in Meghalaya have said that the decision to put on hold the FIR against Goswami was to comply with the order of the Supreme Court. Over 150 police complaints were filed against Goswami across India after he was seen to be launching an extraordinary personal attack against Sonia Gandhi on his TV show. Fearing imminent arrest by cops in Mumbai, where he resides, Goswami had moved the Supreme Court, which entertained his plea out of turn and provided him three-week protection from the arrest.
The development in Meghalaya will come as a huge relief to Goswami, who’s been facing considerable grief for his questionable TV broadcast in recent days. Another FIR was filed in Mumbai recently after a local resident accused Goswami of demonising the Muslim community during his TV channel’s coverage of the assembly of migrant workers outside the Bandra railway station in April. Goswami had made desperate attempts to highlight the existence of a mosque in the visuals even though the Muslims’ place of worship had no connection with the developing story. Fearing arrest in the case, Goswami had moved the Supreme Court once again.
Goswami has also faced considerable condemnation in the UAE, where the country’s prominent newspaper Gulf News demanded a ban on his Republic TV along with Zee News, Times Now, Aaj Tak and ABP News. Writing in its editorial, the widely circulated newspaper had written, “Hate propagated on live TV has a powerful impact especially when it comes from popular anchors. Authorities in the Gulf must take action against these channels, the preachers of hate, including Republic TV, Zee News, India TV, Aaj Tak, ABP and Times Now. They must not be allowed to vitiate the social atmosphere of Gulf countries where tens of millions of diverse ethnicities and religious background work and live peacefully.”
The criticism by Gulf News followed a series of tweets posted by prominent Arab nationals against the alarming rise in Islamophobia in India.
In India, several entertainment celebrities including Kavita Kaushik, Mulk director Anubhav Sinha and Saif Ali Khan’s co-star Kubbra Sait had slammed Goswami for his shenanigans.
