That NDTV’s journalism was and is
dubious has long been known. I recall once, owing to my suspicions, I even timed their debates for
time-share and it confirmed how journos like Barkha Dutt manipulate debates in
favour of their bosses in Congress. At other times she would be campaigning against BJP and
Narendra Modi and stoking Muslim emotions against the latter as she did in
2012. And their campaign of hatred still continues through which NDTV (and some
other media houses too) are singularly focused on tarring ModiSarkar with every
incident of any nature that happens in India. Every incident is turned into a
national disaster or calamity. And foreign media houses pick up these rants and
peddle it further as gospel:
That’s the general idea of what NDTV
does. Had it been a Congress govt they would have gladly defended the party.
Remember, Barkha Dutt called the Nirbhaya
protesters “lumpens” and “drunks”. Add to
all this the fact that NDTV is seen as a terrorist-sympathising channel and
nothing proved it better than the certificate Hafiz Saeed issued to Barkha.
There is no place to hide anymore. But what should be one of the greatest
modern mysteries of media is how a channel that has been eternally making
losses survives. It is sheer magic indeed. Each
time NDTV hits rock bottom some saviour comes through miraculously for a rescue.
Why would investors keep pouring money into a losing proposition is an amazing
mystery. Let’s look at a bit of history to all this.
It started with the Sunday Guardian
carrying two stories “NDTV juggles
funds, shares abroad, avoids tax” and “NDTV-ICICI
loan chicanery saved Roys”. This was in December 2010, immediately after
Radiagate. Both articles are not available now on the Sunday Guardian website
but you can read extracts from the articles here and also here. This storm too passed and
NDTV, as usual, issued legal threats of civil and criminal defamation to the
news magazine. More dirt started coming out. Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities sent a series of complaints to Ministry
of Corporate Affairs, SEBI and the RBI. His allegations ranged from
mal-governance in NDTV to financial skullduggery. Moneylife listed various
allegations:
Sanjay Dutt is also a shareholder in
NDTV and also a former consultant to the channel. NDTV considered his
allegations to financial bodies “defamation” and got a court-restraint stopping
him from further allegations. Those who blabber the loudest about “Crony capitalism” are great examples of
it too, like NDTV. Sample these from Moneylife based on allegations
by Sanjay Dutt:
•Mr Dutt also argues that while public shareholders
have made no money, the promoters and directors pay themselves lavishly. As
recently as 12 July 2013, the company has sought central government permission
under Sec 640B for enhanced remuneration to directors, even though there are no
profits from operations nor taxes paid to the government for many years.
•Mr Dutt further says that
NDTV’s executive management, a small group close to the promoters, which
include editors, law firms, tax advisers and consultants have enjoyed first
class business travel, hefty remuneration, ex-gratia bonuses etc adding up to a
massive Rs320 crore over four years (plus ESOPS), even as the company has made
losses, failed to pay dividends and not paid taxes.
None of the financial bodies and
regulators mentioned above ever responded to letters from Sanjay Dutt that
contained the allegations. Such is the clout wielded by NDTV at that time under
a friendly FM called P. Chidambaram.
And each time NDTV sank a bit more, there was always a Knight in Shining Armour
coming to its rescue:
“…how marquee
institutional investors always line up to acquire this loss-making company’s
bits and pieces and exit at a loss at regular intervals, only to make way for
other big name investors! The latest was DE Shaw which provided an exit to
Goldman Sachs in 2011 by acquiring a 14.2% stake. After this, NDTV acquired a
significant investor—Abhay Oswal, who owns nearly 15% of its equity but seems
to have no presence on NDTV’s board of directors. Mr Oswal happens to be the
father-in-law of Navin Jindal, an industrialist and Congress Member of
Parliament”.
Sanjay Dutt became a whistle-blower
and exposed to the IT Department on the biggest scams by NDTV to dodge taxes. Rakesh Jhunjunwala, considered
a wizard of the stock market, carries this (supposedly a fan site):
“Now, the
latest twist is that the income-tax sleuths have got wind of an alleged scam
perpetrated by NDTV. Apparently, some subsidiary of NDTV allotted shares to two
foreign companies and received an exorbitant amount of Rs. 624 crore. The
shares were allotted for an eye-popping consideration of Rs. 7,015 each. The
astonishing part is that the subsidiary which allotted the shares has no
business operations and there is nothing to show that it has any value let
alone the value of Rs. 7,015 per share. What is even more surprising that the
shares were sold in the very next year for a price of Rs. 634 per share and a
whopping loss of Rs. 584 crore was claimed”.
When asked about the allotment of
shares to foreigners Prannoy Roy and Vikram Chandra nonchalantly told the IT
that they were “Selling Dreams”. That’s
what NDTV has been doing for a very long time, selling dreams, bogus stories,
fake news, vicious campaigns, pro-terrorists slant and sometimes anti-Hindu and
even anti-India stuff. They seem to have got a lot of money for selling these
wet dreams it appears. For this fraudulent transaction the IT has slapped a
demand of 525 crores along with penalties adding up to 825 crores.
Jhunjhunwala’s comments are in the image that I tweeted on August 6:
That’s not even the whole story.
Sometime back an IT officer was reportedly harassed through false allegations
because he alleged money laundering by NDTV. This officer, SK Srivastava, was harassed, suspended, legal cases slapped against
him and even allegations of sexual harassment. He had exposed money laundering
by NDTV and involvement of P. Chidambaram in the episode. Ram Jethmalani had directly accused PC of receiving bribes which
were laundered by NDTV. Madhu Kishwar had narrated the whole harrowing saga on
her site Manushi. I believe she too got
a legal notice for defamation for writing the story.
The IT Dept. issued its notice for
525 crores in June and demanded a reply by June 22. PGurus site notes that Prannoy
Roy is away in South Africa and NDTV has requested more time to reply to the
notice. This is in addition to: “NDTV is already facing
a FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) notice of Rs.2030 crores and the
matter is before the Adjudication forum of Enforcement Directorate. In
Aircel-Maxis case, the Enforcement Directorate in its charge sheet details that
NDTV also received around Rs.250 crores from Astro All Asia Networks, a
subsidiary of Maxis during the scam period. The 2G Court had already issued a
Letter of Rogatory to Britain in this regard”.
Jhunjunwala notes in his article that
NDTV stock has sunk so badly that he refers to it as “Junkyard stock”. That NDTV has consistently committed financial
misdeeds is not in doubt anymore. It never was. Under the previous Congress
govt all these misdeeds could be covered up and wiped off. There is a new govt
at the Centre now. PM Modi has promised to punish the corrupt and be a “Chowkidaar” against thieves looting the
nation. It is now up to ModiSarkar to ensure Junkyard NDTV pays for its sins
and winds up. NDTV is useless to the
nation and offer no value to anyone. With 3% viewership of the English
audience it’s no value to even advertisers who advertise under pressure. The
only thing NDTV does is create communal and caste divides, damage India’s name
abroad, indulge in fake campaigns with a political agenda and most of all its
Pro-Pak, Pro-terrorist agenda. India can do without their nonsense.
An eye opening Blog. Next; Defamation notice to Ravinar.
ReplyDeleteGutsy Ravinar pokes two fingers at such crooks who have powerful connections, including high in the BJP.
DeleteThat a crooked news channel has thrived for so long is in itself a great crime for which many regulators and other government officials and Ministers must go to jail!
ReplyDeleteV true
DeleteNDTV seems to be cover up of many Congress' financial misdeeds. Hasan Horse Trader of Puna which involved Turkhia and many more. 12 Lakh Crore sum looted from India's 2G, Coal, CWG keeps 1000 Crore NDTV type losses recouped several times over and Prannoy Roy type continue to live lavish lifestyles of Business Class trips and anti Indian agenda. Junkyard dealer seems to be like Dawood bhai Memon of Mumbai who bomb blasted same Mumbai which he had businesses in and is now running terror operations from Pakistan. No wonder Prannoy Roy, Barkha, Vikram Chandra run to greener pastures after NDTV winds up in India and continue their intellectual terrorism from shores beyond India.
ReplyDeleteThis govt needs will of steel to close down this fraud channel and lock it from further laundering money for its cronies
ReplyDeleteThis Govt. will not do anything as long as Arun Jaitley's support is there for NDTV. As there is just 19/20 difference between Congress and BJP.
DeleteThey have friends in high places.
ReplyDeleteThink Ramesh Jhunjunwala blog does not belong to real Ramesh Jhunjunwala
ReplyDelete(1) it is not Ramesh Jhunjhunwala but is Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
Delete(2) yes it is of his fans and that is also mentioned in article
The article by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala that you have referred to is not by RJ himself but fansite,the writing is fairly relevant and factfilled though.
ReplyDeleteModi deserves it...after all his ministers and his master AJ patronise the channel while he looks on helplessly...Long live NDTV
ReplyDeleteBut MediaCrooks was so right...pre election when he was asked whether any action will be taken against anti national msm, he correctly said,"no, most govts suck up to the media"
It is frustrating to see that PM Modi spares crooked NDTV and spits venom against GauRakshaks..
ReplyDeleteI can't understand how you can support vigilantism of the worst kind. No one is allowed to take the law in their own hands , not even so-called gaurakshaks.
DeleteDont be stupid! Cow Vigilantism is not good. Period. Serving the Cow or any animal for that matter is good, not thrashing anyone with a belt. Because of dumb morons these crooks like NDTV are able to spew venom against India, Hindus & BJP 24 hours! Learn to tackle the commies, its not done by abusing them, its done by outwitting them. Case study - Modi became PM EXPLOITING the dumbness of commies like Barkha & Rajdeep. Case study 2 - Dr Sambit Patra eats NDTV anchors (specially the dumbest retarded bimbo Nidhi Abdu..oops Razdan) for dinner everyday! How? Just by being smart, politically correct & INFORMED.
DeleteBut as Rajdeep would say "where is the scam? "....lolz
ReplyDeletePC and Arun Jaitley both come from the same bolt of cloth!
ReplyDeleteMore than NDTV I hv started developing aversion towards Modi sarkar for ignoring or not acting towards NDTV.If at all I don't vote in 2019, this would be single reason.
ReplyDeleteMysteriously even now PSUs and various Ministries of the Government of India advertise on NDTV in spite of low TRPs and adversarial editorial policy of the news channel. There also have been reports that NDTV was overpaid by NFDC, a PSU, that acted as an advertising agency under the Electronic Media Advertisement Policy (EMAP) of the Govt. Many GOI and PSU Ad Campaigns were released through NFDC that didn't even have a system to monitor the telecast of commercials on the News channels. An internal audit report of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) indicted and implicated NFDC MD Neena Lath Gupta in the scam. However, the report was deliberately suppressed by the then Secretary MIB Bimal Julka according to an expose published in a Bollywood trade journal.
ReplyDeleteMost shockingly and surprisingly Bimal Julka was made the CIC soon after his retirement in spite of the fact that Arun Jaitly, the them Minister MIB, was made aware of the facts and the manner in which Bimal Julka had manipulated to scuttle further action on the Audit report. If that was not enough the NFDC MD got her term extended for another 5 years.
NDTV survives because it's part of the Lutyen's Zone elite. It's the most brazen instance of how cronyism works in Delhi. Arun Jaitly seems to be the main points man of this elite within the present political dispensation. During his stay in Delhi in his years as a BJP organising secretary, NaMo too was partly, if not wholly, co-opted by the Lutyen's Zone elite thanks to his close proximity with BJP leaders like Arun Jaitly. The problem is NaMo somehow likes such company. He is inspired more by ABV than by Deendayal Upadhyay in such matters.
I'm dead certain none of the ED or other cases against NDTV will be seriously pursued by the present political dispensation that still nurtures the bureaucrats and other stooges and supplants of the previous regime.
And ABV was inspired by Nehru! As PM of India he used to go to Sanjay Gandhi 'samadhi' and stand behind Sonia! You are right, the system always wins. Kursi milte ke baad, its goodbye to the promises. Bofors, NDTV, Augusta, black money ..... all swept under the carpet. They will resurrect them near election time. Sab ullu banate hain, kya Congress kya BJP.
DeleteI cant but admire Satyam B.Ramalingaraju at this juncture.When his company was on the downturn owing to his own misdeeds, he had the guts to admit publicly for which he was roasted by this very media , including NDTV.Having gone to jail and currently out on bail,he is now leading a quiet life ,aloof from public glare.The hypocrisy of NDTV is now laid bare. Their own bosses are accused of money laundering and entering into questionable deals to keep the company afloat. I am sure they must be receiving funding from many dubious sources, apart from a pRominant opposition leader of the now truncated AP.What drives me to this conclusion is the disproportionate coverage this guy whenever he is indulging in public theatrics in AP and whenever he visits Delhi .Prannoy Roy and his spouse should emulate Ramalingaraju, by publicly owning up their sins , go to jail and come out on bail to lead an 'honorable' life ( whatever that may mean !)
ReplyDeleteOne of my old classmate, a retd defence personal, is in Dubai. In a whatsapp msg he tells that he watches pakistani channels also and he finds NDTV more anti India as compared to pakistani channels.
ReplyDeleteI wish that new MIB,Mr.Naidu reads this wonderful blog and takes necessary action sothat we do not loose faith in Modi Govt.Also what about horse breeder Hasan Ali and his misadventure?
ReplyDeletePlease do not place much hope in this Naidu fellow. Sorry to say that you are likely to be disappointed.
DeleteAll these ministers, except a few, are useless / only talk with no action. No need to place hopes on them..
DeletePrannoy Roy in South Africa ? Well he seems to be already planning his getaway. His' will be a permanent absence if NDA comes back to power in 2019.His election analysis in 2019 would be his last for if NDA is voted back to power, the current preface to his future flight is well deserved and well planned.The clever bloke that he is ,at least in this case, he is well ahead of his times !!!
ReplyDeletePM Modi is a wise man who has an ear to the ground. So, he must be quite aware of what NDTV is upto. So, I am surprised at the government's lackadaisical approach to the whole issue. They should have been hounding NDTV by now; their top honchos should have been behind bars. These notices are just to caution the top honchos who will flee the country and park themselves in the US or UK; the govt will then write off the whole thing as NPA.
ReplyDeleteSeen that kinda stuff again and again. Time for PM Modi to "walk the talk.".
I appreciate you for hoping that Modiji would take action in NDTV case...Nothing will happen...Pl wait and see...As Sri. Dharanirao, above, says Roy would flee this country, as V Malya did...
DeleteIt really beats me as to why the BJP government is acting so coy about acting against such people / organisations? They seem to be almost bending over backwards and that too with kid gloves in their hands while handling such issues, that it completely baffles me? Are they trying to appease Congress / Communists in order to get some bills passed? If with such an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha they are not able to act against these people as per law, then the common man really does not have a hope for acche din.. Changing Smiriti Irani’s portfolio when she was doing such a wonderful job was a clear case of “political hara kari” She was star performer among the ministers and she made no bones about her Hindu identity. Her speech in the Rohit Vemula case inspired every right thinking Indian citizen who saw it the feeling that the country is going in the right direction for the first time since independence. It’s a bit difficult to find a better example of a “self goal” than this. The government seems to have completely capitulated to the parasites who continue to suck the blood of our nation. The government should realize that improving the economy, creating jobs etc., depend on several external factors and despite the best intentions and efforts, the government may fail to achieve what it wants to achieve in these areas. But, when it comes to the promise of bringing corrupt people to justice, it is entirely in its hands and they will face the wrath of the voters if they have nothing to show come the next Lok Sabha elections. Wat’s more, all the political parties (including those accused of corruption) will gleefully point out that the BJP government is hand in glove with the corrupt elements, that’s why they haven’t done anything to bring them to justice. In my language, there’s a saying “using your finger to poke your own eye”. The government should realize that keeping the voters happy and loyal by addressing their concerns about the wrongs of the past and their expectations of the future are a thousand times more important than saving some corrupt / antinational politicians / parties / organisations from facing a due legal process.
ReplyDeleteIt is a mystery as to why the Modi government has not been able to book anybody for pre-Modi corruption. Their own people are mixed up? They do not know how to use power? The bureaucrats who participated in the Congress corruption are still there and very powerful?
ReplyDeleteHow long an economically unviable enterprise can be supported by under cover businesses and remain unprosecutable by an administration claimed to be honest and patriot is greater mystery. Generally, such under cover support should be used to net wholesale long time corrupt and anti national thugs to put a fear in the enemy of people, but who is wasting away this consolidating opportunity and why?
ReplyDeleteYesterday on an ndtv Hindi show about Isis handlers the reporter even explained how to prepare ammonium nitrate as an explosive. The reporter was allegedly narrating how the handlers explained using ammonium nitrate...but I had this feeling that there is something seriously wrong with this channel.
ReplyDeleteOn SM, umpteen times one can see the displeasure of BJP's core supporters on many of the party's actions.While development is welcome, there can be no hope of a repeat term for BJP, only on the plank of development.The ecosystem that works for the party's demise is only growing by the day.My own fear is the notorious hindu vengeance to seek revenge at any cost. May be side with its enemies who they percieve as no more dangerous than these 'friends'.
ReplyDeleteDo not even dream of any action against NDTV.
ReplyDeleteAt least as long as fellow crooks Arun Jaitely, RS Prasad, Venkaiah are holding positions in ModiSarkar.
BTW, Capital Markets 'junking' NDTV is a real good sign that at least good number of people are not buying its falsehoods.
Checkmate!
ReplyDeleteNo way is ModiSarkar going to act against NDTV or any other journo, however anti-India and corrupt they be! It is all election-rhetoric and once in power, they get morphed! All the exciting promises that they made b4 elections are just conveniently forgotten, especially about punishing the corrupt! Now very clear that the BJP top brass is full of gas, who think by talking about 'Development' and showing some 'Development', they have overcome all the muck and dirt of corruption! Slowly, but surely, ppl are going to be disillusioned by this Government too, irrespective of the 'Development' that they are talking about. people need to see some 'Action' against ant-nationals and Corrupt corporates and individuals.
ReplyDeleteYes, many of us share the same views as with you...What did Modiji Govt / State Govts of Har / Raj did to Vadra, in land grabbing case..BJP released a CD and after elections conveniently forgot about it and the Daamaad roams freely abusing the Govt. Appreciate the PM who mesmorises people with his oratory, but his Govt lacks in booking the corrupt like PC or taking action on the traitors like Burkha, / NDTV or lie paddlers like ToI/IE
DeleteNearer 2019, they will remove the dust from, and again bring out, the Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, Sri Ram Temple, corruption, black money, tough on Pakistan and terrorism, Bangladeshi illegal immigrants etc files and plead for votes.
ReplyDeleteModi can't act against the news channel because his equation with the english media is already sub-par. Even though there is no evidence, the MSM is just looking for an opportunity to label modi as undemocratic , dictatorial, against freedom of speech , blah blah blah. If the downfall of NDTV is to come. It has to come slowly and without a perception of vendetta. The wheels of justice have to turn slowly in this case.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise that all hotels in India and all major countries carry NDTV as the only Indian english news channel
ReplyDeleteHighly doubt if BJP will take any action against NDTV as long as AJ is protecting them
ReplyDeleteFrom last couple of months u have observed that Google shows ndtv links on the top of every news search. Avoid this filthy news channel on the Internet too. Darkha Butt is a witch!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks Ravinar for getting us know about the cases that are on and the misdeed timeline of this a antinational channel. The Allahbad school has been sealed. Excellent move. This dirt channel shud also hv the same consequence!
ReplyDeleteविभा जी प्रणाम...NDTV जैसे चैनल तभी बंद होगे जब उनका TRP बहुत निचले स्तर पे जावेगा। रिमोट कंट्रोल अपने ही हाथ में है। अगर हर देशप्रेमी नागरीक ने सोचा की NDTV देखना ही नहीं तब अपने आप ये दिल्ली के डिज़ाईनर पत्रकार रोड पे आ जावेंगे। #banNDTV.
DeleteFrom last couple of months u have observed that Google shows ndtv links on the top of every news search. Avoid this filthy news channel on the Internet too. Darkha Butt is a witch!
ReplyDeleteरविजी, राष्ट्रप्रेमी आपको प्रणाम करता है। JNU कांड के बाद बेवजह किसी देशद्रोही गद्दार को बरखा दत्त द्वारा unnecessary hype किया जाता है, और ऊन्हें हिरो घोषित किया जाता है, जबकी तारीफ के पात्र हिमपात की वजह से शहीद हुवे अपने जवान थे। इसि प्रकार ऊनकी नियत समझ में आती है। परंतु मेरा कहना ये है की अगर रिमोट कंट्रोल अपने हाथ हो तो इन जैसे TRP के लिये देश को बेचने वाले road पे आ जावेंगे....इनका चैनल ना देखना हमारे ही हाथ मे है।
ReplyDelete