The recent incident of comedian Kunal Kamra accosting Republic TV news anchor Arnab Goswami while on a flight from Mumbai to Lucknow has brought to the fore similar incidents of heckling by the crew of Goswami’s channel. In one of the incidents, reporters of Republic TV are seen heckling Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor. “Why are you not answering Republic TV’s questions? Why are you running away like a coward?” The crew can be heard asking the Congress leader these questions while he walks towards his car.
In a bid to establish Tharoor’s role in the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, reporters of Republic TV have been recorded on camera, hounding the politician. Pushkar was found dead in a five-star hotel in Delhi in January 2014. In May 2018, the Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet in the case of Sunanda Pushkar’s death. Her husband Tharoor was charged with abetting suicide.
Tharoor’s friend Rajan Rao was also accosted by a Republic TV reporter in 2017 for his alleged role in the Sunanda Pushkar case.
Commenting on Kamra’s in-flight video, Tharoor said that “it was time someone gave him (Goswami) a taste of his own medicine”. “I deplore and condemn what was done to me and therefore approve of teaching the incorrigible what it feels like to be treated that way,” the Congress leader said in a tweet.
Also watch
Before Kunal Kamra: When a Republic TV reporter heckled Tejashwi Yadav during a flight in 2017
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!