On Friday (August 5), veteran ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai courted controversy for trying to evade questions on the recent spate of violence during the West Bengal panchayat election.
While speaking on the occasion of ‘200 episodes of Netanagri’, he highlighted the atrocities committed against women in Mumbai in 1992-1993 and in Muzaffarnagar in 2013. “Whenever riots happen, we always hear stories of rape and gang rape. What is the reason,” the ‘journalist’ inquired.
At that point, a co-panelist named Rahul Shrivastav intervened and asked, “Why did you not mention Bengal? You mentioned UP explicitly. (Crimes against women) happened in Bengal just now.”
Journalism of @SardesaiRajdeep is a Joke!
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 5, 2023
Rajdeep was shaming Gujarat, UP by saying whenever there's violence, there're cases of Rape
When Rahul Shrivastav said mention Bengal too, where violence, rape happened recently.
Rajdeep starts defending TMC by saying it has woman CM. pic.twitter.com/svDPWsKj3C
Rajdeep Sardesai was caught off guard and he desperately tried to change the context to save his face. “No, no, no…I spoke about Uttar Pradesh in the context of the participation of women,” he claimed.
After realising that he would be forced to condemn the violence in West Bengal, he came up with the troupe of ‘woman Chief Minister.’ Sardesai remarked, “Bengal, by the way, is the only State with a woman Chief Minister.”
In that way, the ‘veteran’ journalist was able to deviate the discussion from the violence perpetrated on women in West Bengal to political appointment of Chief Minister.
“UP made Mayawati Chief Minister before Bengal made Mamata Banerjee the CM,” Rahul Shrivastav pointed out. “Ah, okay… Even my home State of Maharashtra hasn’t appointed any female CM,” Sardesai said.
It is interesting to note that the original discussion was about crimes against women during political and communal violence. Rajdeep Sardesai shrewdly deviated the discourse at the time when he was asked to speak on atrocities committed against women during West Bengal panchayat polls. This is however not the first time that the veteran ‘journalist’ resorted to such theatrics.
Panchayat election was a fight for stature, Mamata Banerjee had to show that she was No.1: Rajdeep Sardesai
In July this year, Rajdeep Sardesai attempted to contextualise the violence that took place during the West Bengal Panchayat election and give Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee a clean chit.
On being asked by journalist Saurabh Dwivedi of Lallantop about the incumbent TMC government’s failure to contain the violence, Sardesai dodged the question altogether and narrated the history of political violence in West Bengal.
Unlike other times, Dwivedi pressed the veteran ‘journalist’ to answer his specific question about the current situation in the State. “Please speak on the failure of the Chief Minister, the State Election Commission, the improper deployment of central forces and the inability to hold free and fair elections,” he reiterated.
Rajdeep Sardesai tried to evade the question by raking up ‘chronology’, and ‘political culture of Bengal.’ He then resorted to tokenism and claimed that he condemns violence in all forms. “I am not trying to normalise violence,” he made a desperate appeal.
Is @SardesaiRajdeep a journalist or TMC Spokesperson?
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) July 15, 2023
Check how he defends Mamata Banerjee on Violence in Bengal during panchayat elections.
Tried to blame central forces, when failed says it was poltical compulsion of Mamata to anyhow become Neta No. 1 pic.twitter.com/BqrJ0JEtY7
The India Today ‘journalist’ suggested that while the State government is responsible for maintaining the law and order situation, nothing much can be expected due to the development of a politically surcharged environment.
Saurabh Dwivedi intervened and informed Sardesai that it is the job of the journalists to hold State governments accountable when they fail to discharge their duties.
Rajdeep Sardesai then tried to blame the BJP by claiming that violence was at its peak in the constituency of Nisith Pramanik, BJP leader and the Minister of State for Home Affairs. He suggested that despite the deployment of Central forces, the situation in Pramanik’s constituency could not be controlled.
At that point, Saurabh Dwivedi intervened again and told Rajdeep Sardesai that the central forces were not notified about sensitive areas. “The intent should be there since you (TMC) are running the government,” he emphasised.
A defensive Rajdeep Sardesai then claimed, “This is why I told you about chronology at the start. The Panchayat election was a fight for relevance and maintenance of political stature.”
While implying that violence was a political necessity, he said, “Mamata Banerjee had to do something to show her opponents that she is leader No.1 in West Bengal.”
