New Delhi: Prime Time on Wednesday was entirely predictable — ‘investigations’ continued into late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. Meanwhile, News18 India discussed the turmoil in the Congress party, and Mirror Now focused on the state of India’s economy.
Times Now‘s Navika Kumar found a new angle for her debate, namely the ‘drug cartel’ that Rhea Chakraborty was allegedly part of. The anchor couldn’t resist making the whole saga about herself and her channel: “And you are questioning our political motive?!”
Lawyer Shehzad Jai Hindi said, “No drug cartel can operate without political backing… Who are the A-listers who would have been unearthed if the investigation reached its logical conclusion? And today your suicide lobby is completely exposed. Apologise to Navika and apologise to the entire country. Had it not been for Navika you would’ve said Sushant is mad.”
The possible drug link was also the hot topic on India Today, where anchor Gaurav Sawant explained that the Narcotics Control Bureau had stepped in and was probing Rhea Chakraborty and her alleged role in sourcing and giving drugs to Sushant Singh Rajput. He said, “India Today tried to dig deeper in the mystery. We tracked down the late actor’s bodyguard who spoke at length about Sushant Singh Rajput’s alleged dependence on substances and temperament.”
On camera, this person who claimed to be Rajput’s bodyguard said, “Yes he would take charas. All the parties would usually take place in his house and five or six people would be there.”
ABP News anchor Romana Isar Khan also highlighted these “new revelations” in the case.
The big question asked on the show was if Sushant Singh Rajput was given “drugs mixed in coffee and tea”. The channel put on display Rhea Chakraborty’s alleged chats with her talent manager Jaya Saha. Even though it remained unclear if they were discussing drugs or were referring to Sushant, the channel’s reporter insisted that “sources” have confirmed that they were discussing drugs.
“Hash, MD, weed et cetera have been spoken of in Rhea’s chats,” the reporter said.
On Mirror Now, anchor Tanvi Shukla, mercifully, turned elsewhere to highlight the state of the country’s economy. Her concern was whether to give relief to borrowers. Sunil Alagh, a business and brand consultant said, “The RBI has reduced its interest rate by almost 2-3% since the beginning of the year. The banks have to do it. The government has to get the oil put in by getting them to spend.”
Dr B. Kalra, a home buyer, said, “I have three requests — the interest on interest must stop, the rate of interest should be brought down to that of a savings account and the moratorium should be extended for another the months.”
On News18 India, Amish Devgan’s topic of discussion was the ongoing turmoil in the Congress party. He quoted “sources” saying that the Gandhi family is attempting damage control by calling up Ghulam Nabi Azad. “There is talk that Azad is upset that the Congress party didn’t revolt against the Modi government’s Article 370 move,” he said as a video clip of PM Modi walking beside a peacock was displayed on the screen.
When he asked the BJP’s spokesperson Sambit Patra why he was enjoying the Congress fiasco, Patra replied, “With due respect Amish bhai, let us have fun, why do you want us to get worried over problems in their house?” He added, “I am going to call it the Congress Non-Working committee, not Congress Working Committee. This is not a topic of debate, it’s a thing to laugh at. People who have blood pressure should sit and make fun of the Congress.”
