A press briefing by Shashi Tharoor outside his residence on Tuesday went awry after a Republic TV reporter continually interrupted the Congress MP, provoking the latter to invite the reporter onto the stage.
The incident occurred when Tharoor was addressing journalists in Thiruvananthapuram, his Lok Sabha constituency, a day after Republic TV aired a report accusing him of playing a role in the unnatural death of his wife, Sunanda Pushkar.
Terming the report, by the Arnab Goswami-led Republic TV, on Sunanda’s death a “distortion” and “misrepresentation of facts”, Tharoor said that these exclusives come out when “new channels want to establish themselves and grab attention.”
When repeatedly interrupted by reporter Aditya Raj Kaul, Tharoor addressed him by saying, “Please, please take over. Why don’t you come here and speak?”
A closer examination of the video clip of Tharoor’s statement reveals that the reporter in question sought to evoke a reaction from the Congress MP.
He constantly interjected with a “why are you physically manhandling me” – and had to be taken aside by his aides. There is no video evidence to back the scribe’s allegation.
‘Super Exclusive’ and Tharoor’s Reaction
On 8 May, Republic TV released a set of audio tapes alleging that Tharoor, along with his assistant Narayan, made deliberate attempts to stall Sunanda from talking to the media. Throughout the coverage, the channel alleged that Tharoor’s lies have been “caught”.
Condemning the coverage, Tharoor took to the social media, challenging Goswami to prove his “false claims in a court of law”.
Sunanda was found dead in a south Delhi hotel on the night of 17 January 2014.
Republic and its Many Investors
Republic has been in the news ever since it was announced that it’s an independent media venture, mentioning in every hoarding that the channel will be “your voice”. The channel, however, has several investors.
The Indian Express first reported that Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a Rajya Sabha MP, is one of the largest investors and a director in the media venture. Chandrasekhar, who also owns Asianet News Online Private Limited, is the vice-chairman of NDA in Kerala since September 2016. He was first appointed as a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka in 2006 and has been a member ever since.
Apart from Chandrasekhar, SARG Media Holding Private Limited, in which Goswami and his wife Samyabrata Ray Goswami are the major stakeholders, is also an investor. The largest investors in SARG are Ranjan Ramdas Pai and Mohandas Pai, who have invested Rs 7.5 crore.
Also Read: BJP Rallies Behind Arnab’s Lalu-Shahabuddin Expose on Republic TV
(This story has been updated.)
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