Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi sharply questioned the journalistic practice of the Times Now Navbharat channel and of its editor-in-chief Navika Kumar during a recent TV debate.

During a debate she was anchoring, Kumar asked why the Opposition was only focusing on Manipur and not bringing up problems in other states. “There should be discussions about the atrocities in Manipur, and it’s not a matter of woman or man, any human being who has watched the video it has been gut-wrenching for them,” Kumar said. “Anyone who has seen the video will have their hearts ripped apart. I’ve seen it myself and I can’t compare it with anything else. I don’t believe in whataboutery,”

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“It’s true we need to talk about Manipur but should we also not see and discuss about incidents happening in other states of the country?” Kumar said. “Shouldn’t there be statements from any of the Opposition parties about this? Even in [West] Bengal, 52 people died. Isn’t Rajasthan the rape capital of this country? Are these not facts?” the journalist asked.

In response, Chaturvedi said, “If we are talking about facts, let me ask you how many debates you had on Sushant Singh Rajput’s murder. About 100 if not more....and it was just a case of suicide. You are discussing Manipur for the past five days, but the violence has been raging for over 80 days, so how many debates have been conducted before this?”

“But I want to ask you a simple question: there must be some difference between rising crimes against women and organised mob violence against women,” said Chaturvedi. “So in which category does Manipur belong?”

“Before 2014, you asked so many questions of the UPA government every day, but compared to this how many questions have you asked the government post 2014,” Chaturvedi said. “Just tell me the number of debates you conducted and then I will believe we are working with a free and fair media and are answering to a free and fair media.”