Controversial media house NDTV and its journalists are known for often spreading fake and bias news reports. The channel’s editorial director Sonia Singh was caught spreading a fake news today while responding to an allegation of bias against the channel.
Well,going by the facts, the Fadnavis 48 hour government first cleared Mr Pawar, followed by the current https://t.co/Dzih5m6Oml,perhaps Mr Roushan could direct his tweets to them & not NDTV. Facts First not your own biases,please https://t.co/glEWGMIesK
— sonia singh (@soniandtv) December 30, 2019
The NDTV anchor claimed that NCP leader Ajit Pawar was given a clean chit by the 48-hour government of Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra, which is lie. She was responding to tweet by OpIndia CEO Rahul Roushan that showed the screenshots of two tweets by NDTV reporting Ajit Pawar taking oath in both Devendra Fadnavis and Uddhav Thackeray government. When Ajit Pawar was made a minister in the short-lived second government of Fadnavis, NDTV had introduced him as scam-tainted. But when reporting on Pawar becoming a minister in the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra, NDTV didn’t mention anything about allegations of scams against him.
NDTV, the best an Italian can get pic.twitter.com/ufHu3qJYhk
— Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) December 30, 2019
To counter this allegation of bias, Sonia Singh tweeted, “the Fadnavis 48 hour government first cleared Mr Pawar, followed by the current government.” She advised Roushan to direct his tweets to the respective political parties and not NDTV, and accused him of having a bias.
Although it is true that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has given a clean chit to Ajit Pawar in Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation scam cases, it is absolutely false that the BJP government too had given him clean chit in the irrigation scams.
Two days after Ajit Pawar had taken oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in the second Devendra Fadnavis led government, several media houses had reported that the Anti-Corruption Bureau has dropped the irrigation corruption case against Pawar. But soon it was revealed that it was fake news, as no case against Ajit Pawar was dropped. The ACB had informed that they were probing more than 3000 tenders in the case, and among them cases in only 9 tenders were closed, and Ajit Pawar was not named in any of those 9 cases. These cases were dropped as no wrongdoing was found in those 9 tenders. The ACB had also informed that recommendation to close those 9 cases were submitted almost 3 months ago, when Ajit Pawar was an opposition leader.
Therefore, it was fake news that Devendra Fadnavis govt had dropped charges against Ajit Pawar. Even the NDTV, where Sonia Singh is the Editorial Director, had reported this clarification issued by the ACB. “None of the cases that were closed today are related to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar,” NDTV had quoted a senior official regarding the issue.
Despite the fact that he the allegation of Fadnavis govt dropping charges against Ajit Pawar was proved to be false almost immediately, a senior journalist chose to spread that fake news again. And she spread the fake news using the words “going by the facts”. Perhaps the senior NDTV journalist should read NDTV more often, so that she is updated with actual facts and does not spread imaginary facts.
