Times Now has lately upped the ante while competing with the right-wing channel, Republic TV, in pushing the limit for anti-Muslim coverage. The channel owned by the Times Group has been dedicating a lot of its coverage to issues involving Muslims.
As part of its latest effort on what many term as anti-Islamic propaganda, the channel hosted a debate on the alleged forced conversions of Hindu girls in Kerala, a state that the BJP is desperately trying to make inroads into for electoral gains.
A video from a recent debate with a former RAW official, RSN Singh, insulting Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) has now gone viral on social media platforms causing considerable anger among Muslims.
In the video, Singh, who’s known for his bigoted views and a regular panelist on Times Now on debates concerning Kashmir, Pakistan and anti-Muslim issues, uses derogatory language for the most revered personality in Islam after God.
He then goes on to make insane and factually incorrect comments about the the revered wife of the Prophet (PBUH) accusing her of having murdered Hazrat Ali, one of the caliphates of Islam, and his sons.
Singh is described as an intelligence expert, who has reportedly served in the Indian army and RAW in the past. He’s usually seen shouting loudly and losing his temper while indulging in brawls with fellow panelists- an act not approved by even people who share the same bigoted views on social media.
I plead with Col RSN Singh not to scream & yell on TV. You have powerful facts on your side. U weaken ur case by going hysterical @TimesNow
— MadhuPurnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) August 31, 2017
People on social media have slammed Singh and the channel asking how a reputed brand from the Times Group could go to this extent and allow an individual to insult the Prophet (PBUH) of Islam giving rise to demands of filing a criminal case against him and the channel.
https://twitter.com/HamzaSaqmd/status/904455255739572224
https://twitter.com/Amjadpen/status/904428499603046400
RSN Singh blaspheming Prophet(PBUH) "54 saal ka Buddha" @Shehzad_Ind @AliSohrab007 @KakaVaani @PeaceMoin @IftikharIslam #ArrestRSNsingh pic.twitter.com/B6y5yEp0NF
— Mohd. Anas Khan انس ?? (@anaskhandx) September 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/zubair_burhan/status/904383349518606336
@TimesNow should be banned .
RSN Singh former RAW officer blaspheming Prophet Muhammad SAW on TIMES NOW debate .
RSS GOONS = ANCHORS— NaجeeB (@npOwernajeeb) September 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/khushboo1508/status/904273416290689024
Legal experts that Janta Ka Reporter spoke to are convinced that Singh’s hateful utterances make it a perfect case of criminal act under Section 153 A since his comments promote enmity ‘between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.’
The channel, in the past, has had to eat humble pie for fake coverage after its claims on the existence of a so-called rate card for converting Hindus in Kerala at the behest of the terror group ISIS. The channel and its editor-in-chief, Rahul Shivshankar was widely condemned for using a very old WhatsApp forward to build an anti-Islamic narrative and even ridiculously call it Super Exclusive on Times Now.