The sudden ceasefire declared by the Left-Liberal echo system against ABP News should come as no surprise. The criticism of Left-Liberati (LL), a motley crew sponsored by Congress, withered after the media firm came out with a survey predicting a loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in all the three states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Till this survey came out on August 12, obviously designed with a pro-Congress slant, all LL and Congress were accusing the Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) Group of pro-Modi subservience and terminating the services of so-called independent journalists – Punya Prasun Bajpai and Abhisar Sharma.
After a favorable survey, intended to create a pro-Congress sentiment, the LL solidarity with these two journalists has been put to rest. So now ABP News is a good organisation after publishing pro-Congress election surveys[1]?
We agree that the ABP Group as an employer have a right to choose who they want to keep and who they want to let go. Their star anchors Punya Prasun Bajpai and Abhisar Sharma are known BJP haters and their leniency towards Congress and AAP has been well exposed, despite their claims of being independent. As an employer, at the end of the day, ABP Group’s ownership will decide the policy. Both of them were getting plush salaries from the company. Both of them have the habit of giving mischievous spins and twists while presenting news. Bajpai was caught for a fixed interview with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and even caught sitting in their high-level meeting. His infamous “Krantikari” interview exposes his journalistic biases. This match fixing interview with Kejriwal is one of the most watched videos in Google. Many times he created fake news[2].
Abhisar Sharma is already caught in the NDTV controversies along with his wife[3]. He is very abusive in social media too and a known Modi hater.
The irony is that the ABP Group’s Ananda Bazar Patrika and Telegraph newspapers had terminated more than 750 journalists in February 2017[4]. At that time none of the LLs uttered a word. Then why get angry and outraged over the exit of five-star journalists like Punya Prasun Bajpai and Abhisar Sharma’s?
Kolkata based ABP Group under Aveek Sarkar, now controlled by his brother Arup Sarkar is known for changing its narratives based on the political winds. During the heydays of the Left parties in West Bengal, Sarkars were with the Left in the state and in the centre they were with Congress and especially enjoyed the blessings of the former President Pranab Mukherjee. The majority of the staffers of ABP Group are Left and Congress centric and their bias is evident from their writing, editing and giving a mischievous spin. When Trinamool Congress started emerging, the Sarkars jumped on the Banerjee bandwagon and later fell apart[5].
In a nutshell, the ABP Group is always testing the political waters and even indulging in monkey balancing. Their intention to publish a survey in August, when elections are slated for November is totally mischievous and unethical. Many a time we have seen ABP Group’s surveys go awry but they continue to do so unabashedly in the name of Press Freedom while crying wolf off and on.
References:
[1] ABP News – CVoter Survey predicts BJP Loss in MP, Raj & Chattisgarh – Aug 13, 2018, TheQuint.com
[2] After hobnobbing with Kejriwal, ‘Krantikari’ Punya Prasoon Bajpai now peddles fake narratives – Jul 9,2018, OpIndia.com
[3] CBI probe NDTV’s Income Tax assessment officer, journalist husband’s unaccounted income – Aug 18, 2016, PGurus.com
[4] Telegraph and Ananda Bazar Patrika terminate more than 750 Journalists to cut costs – Feb 3, 2017, PGurus.com
[5] Will Aveek Sarkar’s exit from ABP assuage Mamata Banerjee? Jul 23, 2018, Firstpost.com
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BJP, I somehow feel, is destroying the basic fabric of our civilization. I may be totally crazy, but I thought someone needs to say it. Perhaps a robust debate on this issue might help BJP in the next election. If BJP ignores this and similar surveys of as biased, it will only harm BJP.
Media should play out news as it happens, not try to play political analysts. Some professions demand absolute honesty and impartiality with journalism topping the list. But sadly Indian media act worse than European Paparazzi, they influence public opinion and discourse to suit their own ends, which is disgusting and dangerous.
Time for demolishing entire Indian media & build a fresh team which can reflect nationalist interests of India & be true to the spirit of India. They should focus only truth & hammer down any corrupt politician without taking sides.
Heard that Paapi Punya may join a news network to be started by a former Congress minister. Funding may come from the middle east