Reporters Without Orders

We have a full in-house panel for this episode of Reporters Without Orders. Apart from Rohin and Cherry, we have Nidhi joining us from Kashmir and Amit reporting from Bangalore. Amit, who is camped outside the Raj Bhavan, is giving the panel latest updates on the Karnataka verdict. Oh! he also has a warning for the listeners. Speaking to the panel, Amit says that the BJP was looking at forming the government until the afternoon, however, soon after, the prospects began to diminish. While the Governor has agreed to meet the Congress and JD(S) leaders between 5:30 and 6:00 in the evening, “as per the convention, the Governor should ideally give a chance to Yeddyurappa as the BJP is the single largest party", Amit tells the panel. Amit also shares that the JD(S) supporters were wearing t-shirts with 'E Sala Cup Namde' which means, “this time the cup is ours”. Amit says, “This was their very famous and successful social media campaign where they claimed that this time Vidhana Soudha (Sabha) trophy is ours.” When Cherry asks Amit if JD(S) would play the kingmaker’s role, Amit responds, “It is not playing the kingmaker’s role but it is the king right now!” Nidhi also chips in on the Karnataka conundrum and how Kerala Tourism saw an opportunity in all this. On May 15, amidst the thrill of minute-to-minute political/electoral updates, Kerala Tourism tweeted out an invitation "to all MLAs to unwind at the safe and beautiful resorts of God's own country." Speaking of which, Nidhi tells that panel that the tweet also pointed to a strategy practised by parties to prevent horse-trading of leaders elected to the Legislative Assembly. Nidhi tells the panel that a news piece that was under-reported was the arrests made in the case of the murder of a 15-year-old girl in Ghaziabad that happened in December 2017. The Crime Branch of Ghaziabad police has arrested five people, including the father-son duo, who hatched the plot to kill the girl. Sharing the details of the case, Nidhi adds, “To ensure that she was dead, they drove over her body and then eventually dumped her in a field!” Nidhi says that since then the DSP in-charge of the case has been transferred, the police station in-charge has been suspended for neglecting his duties. Despite this, the news did not find enough space, apparently, because it does not involve any political leader. Rohin speaks about the murder of Bhim Army’s leader’s brother, Sachin Walia, which took place in Saharanpur. He points out that Walia was shot on the day when preparations for Maharana Pratap's Jayanti were being made. He also finds various inconsistencies in the police investigation that indicate that the police had foreknowledge of the mishappening. Rohin says, “It’s interesting that the deceased receives a phone call from the Saharanpur SSP on the day of his death who asks him if he’s going to contest elections. And then they talk about the Maharana Pratap rally, a day celebrated by the Rajputs.” Rohin adds that the SSP makes a strange, grave statement, “Kisiko bhi ragadne ka yahi waqt hota hai (It’s an opportune moment to eliminate anyone.)" Rohin emphasises that such an event can have consequences as elections are near. Even the BSP is aware and apprehensive of the Bhim Army. He adds that this is an important political development with serious implications as Bhim Army led by Chandrashekhar is a big force in the state politics. Cherry speaks about media's recent coverage. She says that the Karnataka elections overshadowed a lot of news pieces, including the namaz row in Haryana. Rohin also speaks about four high-profile weddings and the confusion created by Dainik Jagran's reportage. All this and more in this episode of Reporters Without Orders.