Anand Patwardhan takes a nasty swipe at Arnab, Asks him to stop ‘barking’!

Arnab Goswami, Times Now Editor-in-Chief. Source: mensxp

Anand Patwardhan has shot off a Facebook post in response to Arnab Goswami asking about his silence on the violence in Malda district in West Bengal where an entire police station was ransacked and vandalized by a mob. Malda is traditionally a Muslim majority area.

Anand Patwardhan, film-maker. Source: Twitter
Anand Patwardhan, film-maker. Source: Twitter

Times Now’s editor-in-chief and host of the provocative News Hour show on primetime, Arnab Goswami had questioned the hypocrisy of the ‘award-wapsi’ brigade calling their silence on Malda a double standard when it comes to criticizing religious intolerance.

On his Tuesday night show, Arnab singled out people like historian Irfan Habib and film-maker Anand Patwardhan, claiming they had suddenly stopped taking his calls to appear on his TV debates. He went a step further to wonder if they had suddenly gone silent or missing now that the Muslim mobs were out on a warpath in Malda.

Arnab Goswami, Times Now Editor-in-Chief. Source: mensxp
Arnab Goswami, Times Now Editor-in-Chief. Source: mensxp

Anand Patwardhan did not take this insinuation lightly and hit back – almost below the belt – on his Facebook wall on 12th January:

Anand Patwardhan's Facebook post on 12 January 2016. Source: Facebook
Anand Patwardhan’s Facebook post on 12 January 2016. Source: Facebook

apparently yesterday arnab goswami announced on his channel that i had gone missing. if he turns to other channels than his own he may sometimes spot me. in case he does not understand why i have refused to be on his channel, i will spell it out here:

i have boycotted arnab ever since his total lack of reason, respect and courtesy were exposed when he began to bark as we returned our national awards. i can certainly understand dissent. i cannot understand barking. if someone gives him a biscuit and he gets retrained to stop barking, i may try his channel again.

This is not the first time that Anand has had beef with Times Now or Arnab. In December, 2014 he complained about how he had been yanked off:

Anand Patwardhan's FB post on 11 December 2014. Source: Facebook
Anand Patwardhan’s FB post on 11 December 2014. Source: Facebook

Last night was yet another indication of the illness in the media. In the afternoon Times Now (Arnab Goswami show) invited me to a TV panel discussion about conversions by hindutva. i agreed. later i got a call asking me to get on the next discussion instead, about BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj calling Gandhi’s assassin Godse a patriot. i agreed. then without explanation i got a call that my presence was not required. i asked why. there were no reasons offered. just a sorry.

the two shows did go on air as scheduled. someone obviously had had me yanked off.

After his remarks about a barking Arnab, Patwardhan added another post on his Facebook wall, responding to the award wapsi question with regard to the violence in Malda. He said:

“every now and again i am reminded that this page is read by many of my regular paid and unpaid trollers. their latest accusation? why dont i return my awards over malda !

 “let us get some things straight. i oppose the mob violence in malda which was triggered by a hindu mahasabha leader making derogatory comments about prophet mohammed. in case anyone has forgotten, it should be recalled that hindu mahasabha and rss members killed mahatma gandhi, and their modern followers are trying to build a nathuram godse temple in meerut.

 “as it happens there was destruction of public property in malda but no reported loss of life and no one was injured as far as i can gather. but any riot on the basis of religion is reprehensible. i think muslims should not react in violence to provocation as it is done precicely to create an image of muslims being violent. we must all understand what the fascist game plan is, and not play into their hands.

 “i remind everyone that i along with hundreds of others returned my award to protest the nascent fascism growing in this country. the intolerance even on this page is there for all to see.”

 BATTLING ARNAB:

This is not the first time that a guest on Arnab’s show has had an issue with his hectoring aggressive hosting style. Who can forget the showdown with erstwhile BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Rekhi when Arnab warned her to “never ever ever ever say something as ridiculous as I have taken money.”

Or the show with Jagdish Tytler about the 1984 riots case, where Arnab warned him saying “Do not try to be aggressive with me, don’t try to patronise me, don’t try to lecture me, and don’t try to question me.”

On a show with Abhijit Mukherjee the Congress MP from Jangipur, he asked him what are “dented and painted women?”

Arnab has had many tense moments with Raj Thackeray over numerous interviews where he was once asked by Thackeray if he has ever apologized for any mistake that he made. He was told by Raj that he “shouldn’t pull off a drama for TRPs otherwise I will deal with it”

Subramaniam Swamy has also clashed with Arnab many times once saying that “You are an ignoramus, you don’t know what the Tamil opinion is.” He went on to call him a “liar.”

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