India Today and Republic TV have chosen sides in Sushant Singh Rajput’s case. While Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV is standing with Rajput’s family, India Today has come to the rescue of Rhea Chakraborty and has been raising voice against the comments made by various news agencies against her. This one case has turned the rivalry between the two channels into a sort of war.
On 8th September, Kanwal wrote on his Twitter account that while “Banana Republic” channels are questioning India Today’s integrity for interviewing Rhea Chakraborty, they are hounding Rhea across Mumbai city desperately hoping that she will talk to them. “India Today got an interview you wanted,” he added and compared Arnab Goswami with Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels.
Same #BananaRepublic channels that were questioning @IndiaToday for interviewing @Tweet2Rhea are hounding Rhea all over town desperately hoping she will speak to them. So why be a sore loser. @IndiaToday got an interview you wanted. Learn to lose with grace Goebbels.
— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) September 8, 2020
Republic TV did not take time to reply and tagged India Today, Aaj Tak and Aroon Purie, where they shared weekly TRP data of the top five news channels. Republic wrote, “Can you give this (weekly TRP report) to your newsdesk with our compliments and tell them to take a chill pill.”
Dear @indiatoday, @aajtak and @aroonpurie, can you give this to your newsdesk with our compliments and tell them to take a chill pill? They seem a little too stressed. pic.twitter.com/SbTok5Bw4D
— Republic (@republic) September 8, 2020
When a case resulted in a spat between the two channels
Rahul Kanwal of India Today, and Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief Republic TV are not leaving any chance to indulge in the war of words during shows and social media. When Rajdeep Sardesai took Rhea Chakraborty’s interview a week ago, Arnab Goswami took hard on his ex-boss. During his show after the interview, while quoting Sushant’s sister, he said that India Today had cheated 130 crore people of India. They have provided a platform to Rhea Chakraborty, who is the main accused in the case.
He said, “Can the country forget that Rhea Chakraborty is the prime accused in the Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case? Can the country forget that Rhea is the prime suspect in the Sushant case?” He raised questions if the channel is attempting to project a suspect as a great person by providing her a platform to explain her side of the story. Rajdeep Sardesai was also criticized for calling Sushant Singh Rajput a ‘mediocre actor’ during a discussion.
Goswami’s views on India Today during an interview with OpIndia
In the interview with Nupur J Sharma on OpIndia, Arnab Goswami took potshots on India Today without taking names. He said, “I will push a case for too long because I believe If I don’t push a case for long, Sushant Singh Rajput won’t get justice. It is my channel, I will do what the hell I want to do. Those people who are having problems with my persistence, they are jealous of Republic TV,” Arnab said, adding, “The people who do coquettish interviews with scamsters have no moral right to ask me why I do things for too long.”
Kanwal’s attack on Republic TV
On 7th September, Kanwal tweeted that he cannot understand how justice for Sushant is more important than Justice for Rhea. He alleged that the Sushant’s side is being taken because of upcoming elections in Bihar, and the situation might have been different if the elections were in West Bengal. He said, “Banana Republic channels are accusing her of murder. Even CBI is not charging Rhea with murder.”
Same #BananaRepublic channels that were questioning @IndiaToday for interviewing @Tweet2Rhea are hounding Rhea all over town desperately hoping she will speak to them. So why be a sore loser. @IndiaToday got an interview you wanted. Learn to lose with grace Goebbels.
— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) September 8, 2020
The spat between the two channels is not new. They both have accused each other directly or indirectly for publishing content with different points of view. Republic, however, is gaining the top position in terms of viewership.
Both Republic Bharat and Republic TV are leading the TRP charts in the top five Hindi and English news channels, respectively.
