Veteran journalist Nikhil Wagle has lashed out at India TV founder Rajat Sharma for giving communal colour to Tuesday’s impromptu protest by migrant workers in Mumbai’s Bandra. This was in response to Sharma’s emphasis on ‘jama masjid (grand mosque)’ in his tweet posted soon after the visuals of hundreds of workers protesting near Bandra station went viral.

Reacting to the development, Sharma had tweeted in Hindi, “It’s a matter of concern that so many people assembled outside the jama masjid in Bandra. Who called them? If they had come to catch the train to return to their homes, then why did they not have their luggage with them?”

While Sharma faced brutal trolling for his attempt to allegedly communalise a human tragedy by dragging the mosque in his tweet, Mumbai-based journalist Wagle too lashed out at the India TV founder by calling him shameless.

Rajat Sharma a ABVP student activist now part of BJP disguised as a journalist peddling lies and hate. #RajatSharmaSharamKaro — Drunk Journalist (@drunkJournalist) April 15, 2020

Not just Rajat Sharma but most of the news channels today ensured that they will somehow blame Muslims for the migrant workers protest.#MediaTerror pic.twitter.com/G8H3gTwHYq — Krishna Verma (@iamKrishnaVerma) April 15, 2020

Rajat Sharma has fallen to the pits with a hard hitting fact checking show like Aap ki Adalat,which we all grew up watching,to a hate mongering, Muslim hating, cringe inducing news channel owner. His cesspool of a timeline is only discussing coronavirus wrt Muslims,Masjid & TJ. — Zainab Sikander (@zainabsikander) April 15, 2020

Wagle wrote, “You are so shameless. First, you know nothing about Mumbai and yet you are trying to give it a communal colour. Bandra railway station is right in front of the mosque and these people had come there to buy tickets. A lowly TV channel like yours had spread the rumours about starting of train service. That’s it.”

आप बडे बेशर्म है. एक तो मुंबई के बारे मे कुछ नही जानते और कोशिश कर रहे है कम्युनल कलर देनेकी. इस मस्जिद के सामने बांद्रा स्टेशन है और ये लोग वहां टिकट लेने आए थे. आप जैसे किसी घटिया चॅनलने ट्रेन शुरू होने की अफवा उडायी थी. बस्स? https://t.co/Od2nBTMFok — nikhil wagle (@waglenikhil) April 14, 2020

The Mumbai Police have arrested one Vijay Dubey and a journalist working for ABP Majha for allegedly spreading rumours that prompted hundreds of migrant workers to assemble near Bandra station in violation of the nationwide lockdown. ABP Majha is a sister TV channel in Marathi language belonging to the ABP News Network.