Condemnation over Times Now Editor-in-Chief, Arnab Goswami allegedly calling a Muslims journalist ISIS sympathiser continues to pour in even several days after the incident.



The outrage on social media started after jantakareporter.com carried a blog by journalist Asad Ashraf, who was allegedly subjected to humiliation on a live TV by Goswami.

Ashraf, who has worked with DNA and Tehelka, was invited to Goswami’s prime time show, News Hour, to take part in a debate related to an ISIS video involving alleged Indian recruits.

However, the journalist complained of harassment accusing the show’s host of calling him a ‘cover for ISIS’ because he disagreed with Goswami over Batla House encounter.

The channel also received flak for not uploading video of the debate in question.

Activist Kavita Krishnan said, “Shameless TIMES NOW has decided to not upload the video in the link where Arnab Goswami calls journalist Asad Ashraf and Tasleem Rahmani sympathizers of terrorist organizations just because we raised question over the authenticity of Batla house encounter. Now they fear legal repercussions.”

Meanwhile, a group of journalists too have slammed Goswami accusing him of lacking ‘integrity, honesty, humbleness and flair for being free and fair.’

Former Tehelka journalist Anurag Tripathi, took to Facebook condemning Goswami for his alleged unethical behaviour on live TV. Tripathi wrote that he and his colleagues at Tehelka would offer the Times Now editor-in-chief an intern role in Tehelka so that he could ‘learn a few basics’ in journalism.

His Facebook post along with a photo of several other journalists (Photo above) read, “You know ‪#‎ArnabGoswami‬ why you can’t ever come close to match the standard of Asad Ashraf or any other journalist or former journalist of Tehelka? Simply, because you lack integrity, honesty, humbleness and flair for being free and fair.. Trust me, even a rookie at Tehelka is far more better than you.. . We offer you a role of intern at Tehelka so you could at least learn a few basics of journalism, only if your interested in… I am honoured to had Asad as my colleague and team member and I would always be ‪#‎standwithasadashraf‬.”

Times Now has often come under sharp criticism for allegedly showing explicit biases in favour the BJP.

Analysts say they are amazed on the speed with which the channel and its editor-in-chief moves in to defend the central government whenever it faces embarrassment.

jantakareporter.com’s editor-in-chief, Rifat Jawaid said, “You only had to see how Arnab made a hasty live appearance on TV minutes after Congress attacked Modi government for hiring Amitabh Bachchan’s services for two year bash. Not only was Arnab nimble-footed in his defence for the government, but the channel also launched an adverse Twitter hashtag criticising Congress.”

Jawaid, who was a managing editor in India Today and group and managed news operations for four TV channels, said that Times Now’s favourable spin to any anti-Modi development assumed significance because other channels were in the business of aping most of the ‘antics’ shown on Times Now.

Angered by repeated instances of alleged biases, many top names in media, politics and civil society have publicly announced their decision to boycott the channel in the past.