The Shiv Sena on Thursday, 5 November took to its mouthpiece Saamana to slam the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over crying foul for Arnab Goswami and said that even the likes of Amit Shah and Indira Gandhi are not above the law and have faced its consequences.
In it’s editorial for the Saamana, the party wrote: “The ones crying foul over the death of the fourth pillar of the democracy are doing so by destroying the first pillar themselves, so stop beating your chest over a nautanki (dramatic man).”
The party said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state and the Centre is trying to paint a picture of strangulaton of freedom of expression in the state, which is untrue.
‘Fadnavis Govt tried To Brush The Case Under The Carpet’
The editorial said that Arnab Goswami is not a hero like Lokmanya Tilak whose journalism took on the British government, adding that the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government pressurised authorities to not pursue the case.
“Arnab Goswami has been arrested in an extremely personal case. The arrest is not related to politics or journalism in any manner. It's not like Goswami attacked the government the manner in which Tilak-Agarkar did and that is why the government tried to suppress his voice,” the daily said.
“The previous government brushed the matter under the carpet in order to save Goswami and pressurised the police and the authorities to not take any action,” it added.
Everybody knows the kind of journalism that Goswami does and who prompts him to do it, it said.
‘BJP Should Have Demanded Justice For Deceased’
The editorial further said that the investigation will reveal the truth and there is nothing on the lines of 'dictatorship', 'black day' or 'attack on journalism' happening in the state.
“Goswami has not been arrested for mudslinging on CM Uddhav Thackeray, the Maharashtra government or other ministers. The arrest has been made over a deceased man and on the complaint of his wife. So as Home Minister Amit shah claims, this is not at all an attack on the fourth pillar of democracy,” it said.
The editorial further said that anti-government reporters have been jailed in Gujarat and killed in Uttar Pradesh and nobody is reminded of a ‘state of emergency ’there.
‘Even Indira, Amit Shah Faced Consequences Of the Law’
The Sena said that the BJP should have instead raised its voice for justice for Anvay Naik.
Citing the example of the Allahabad High Court verdict against Indira Gandhi ahead of the emergency, Saamana wrote that even a sitting Prime Minister is not above the law in this country.
“Even Amit Shah has faced consequesnces of the law,” it said.
The Case
Arnab Goswami was remanded to judicial custody for fourteen days till 18 November by an Alibaug court late on Wednesday, 4 November.
The order of the court came after the Republic TV founder and editor-in-chief had been arrested earlier in the day in connection with the abetment of suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik.
According to Naik’s suicide note, their financial troubles had been caused because large payments owed to his company Concorde Designs Pvt Ltd had not been paid by three clients including Arnab Goswami/Republic TV. Goswami allegedly owed him Rs 83 lakh.
The note of Naik and his mother Kumud Naik, discovered by the local police in 2018, said that he and his mother were in acute financial distress, which was why they had decided to take their lives.
(If you feel suicidal or know someone in distress, please reach out to them with kindness and call these numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs.)
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