A Tryst with Truth for Newslaundry

By Ratan Sharda

Before I demolish his laundry, I would like to point out that he is trying to move the entire debate away from Left-Church nexus in Tribal belts to instigate them to violence, to create hatred among them against their Hindu roots, deracinate their minds and their efforts to strike at the roots of governance, stop development to keep poor innocent tribals under their violent thumbs. I will first cut through his untruths then return to this battle of narrative that these left-anti-Hindu anti-national forces are waging.

Prateek’s story is about an approximately 8-minute news story on a Times Now on the face of it. He claims that since I was called for a phone interview by Times Now, I have a connection with the story. He questions Times Now running a clip with the logo clearly showing the source is Newsbharati. Apparently, the channel didn’t claim it was their clip. He has a problem that the videos were made by Mumbai Tarun Bharat. Does he have any problem if Tarun Bharat has no problem and wishes to use Newsbharati’s reach in non-Marathi, out of Maharashtra belts to broadcast their field report done with meticulous efforts?

He then goes onto claim that I am a regular writer on Newsbharati.com, whose clips were run by Times Now, hence, I control Newsbharati. Since I am an RSS member, his conjecture is that RSS is running this web portal. First, RSS has no designation nor does it believe in a term called ‘ideologue’; it’s a Communist concept. Should I assume that Prateek is a Communist? Since, he has done so much research on me, doesn’t he know that I am invited to all major TV channels regularly, especially English news channels? Do I lose my right to express my opinion on Times Now on the phone because it is a story about the lynching of Hindu Sadhus in Palghar? Or does Times Now lose its right to invite anyone of its panel for debate or phono reaction and must seek permission from ‘liberal’ people like Prateek? I also write for The Print, The Quint, etc., does it mean all these are owned by RSS or controlled by people like me? Shekhar Gupta and Raghav Behl will be either rolling in the aisles laughing or rolling their eyes heavenwards!

Like a true Leftist, Prateek charges “the channel used clips out of context and 'relied on a website that made factual errors” and moves on. As a launderer, it was his duty to show the dirt, that is, factual errors. But he just spits and runs. Since Prateek did some homework, I too did a bit of homework though I am not an expert in these matters. I found a Facebook post of his - https://m.facebook.com/newslaundry/posts/prateek-goyal-discusses-the-excesses-by-security-forces-in-chhattisgarhs-korsegu/2044878708935408/

Here he blames the police for excesses on Naxals in Jharkhand area. Is he a Naxal sympathizer or supporter? On what basis does he give clean chit to Naxals? He needs to be more careful while throwing his missiles around.

The central peg on which his entire story is hung is that the Newsbharati talks of an FIR purported to be from Son Police station and that there is no place called Son in Palghar. Granted. Can he show one place where Newsbharati’s published reports and videos have said that the FIR is from Son police station? No, sir. I tried hard. But his entire story is based on this single word! Please mark the video and the Newsbharati story and call out.

His second charge is that police FIR doesn’t talk of a “Conspiracy” angle. Poor Prateek does not know Marathi obviously. So, let me advise him to go to page 3, para 2 of the FIR which clearly says ‘kat rachala’ – which in plain English means – Conspiracy was hatched. Let me add another fact. Even the order of the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) granting PCR to the accused notes that there was a conspiracy. Newsbharati has details if he requires it.

He questions the report in Newsbharati about the ambush of Maharashtra Police in Chisda village in this area a few days back. Well, should I believe his telephonic call with his friendly neighborhood policemen or the official report? The article in Newsbharati says, “according to the official release issued by Dr. Apurva Sharma, SDM/RDC of Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (No. ADM/COLL/CC/2010/PASA/72 Silvassa, Date 30/04/2020) two persons namely, Suraj Lahanu Zimme, (22) and Jagadish Chandu Rathad, both residents of Patilpada, Chisda, Khaanvel had led a mob of 200-300 people to ambush a Maharashtra Police bus on 16/04/2020.”

He claims to have talked to a police officer who tells him that there is no Naxal angle to the lynching. Is a police officer allowed to give away investigation details to a journalist? How did he get this information? The case is still under investigation, can an officer disclose anything to anybody, that too a journalist on phone? If it was done, how does Prateek have this kind of reach in Palghar? What relations does he have with scores of Church and Left organizations to have this grip on local law and order machinery? Did Harish Rathod actually say that "the incident cannot be even remotely connected with Naxals?" Did Atul Kulkarni actually talk to Newslaundry?

It is amusing that he dismisses the report of The Wire that the killed Sadhus were tribals, not outsiders, in a single line. Clearly, it was a deliberate attempt by The Wire to save the skin of the local Left and Church axis. This clearly was a manufactured lie and having been caught, they silently removed it and gave back their Hindu dharma and UP residence to those poor departed Sadhus. Naturally, the Left ecosystem won’t allow his integrity to question The Wire! But, the same Prateek builds an elaborate report on a single word ‘Son’ police station and denying the conspiracy angle.

Prateek questions the line of argument of Newsbharati about Left –Church hate campaign of instigating hate among tribals by telling them how they are not Hindus, how Hindu Gods are not their gods, telling them not to burn Ravana effigy as he was their God and a tribal; while the truth is tribals sided with Bhagwan Ram, while Ravana was a well-read, very powerful Brahmin. Yes, a Brahmin whom the entire Left eco-system hates. The tribal teacher in the video clearly explains how their entire social life is woven around their Hindu identity.

Is it fake news if the Newsbharati report showed parallels between the modus operandi of Naxals elsewhere and the multiple movements in Palghar belt? Would he deny that like true Naxals, fringe Left has labeled two villages in Patthalgadi style? Did theNewsbharati report say, they killed Sadhus? No, it talked of the atmosphere created, something that the tribal teacher talked of.

This brings me to the central issue of this entire exercise of the seemingly Left Naxal sympathizer Prateek (as per his own publicly available information) to deflect from the larger social angle of spreading disaffection among tribals and create smoke screens of technical speed breakers against the serious investigation. Does he want to block any investigation into his friendly NGOs, many of whom also get funds from overseas under FCRA and maybe using them for the purposes that probably are not for the purpose they were sent for? Does he want to hide the fact that many of the promoters have networks from Kerala to Delhi, from Rajasthan to Central India to North East, from Delhi to UK and USA if CBI gets into the case? We, the Indians need to be wary of these hit jobs by the sympathizers of Breaking India forces of every possible shade present in our social life.