Navika Kumar from Times Now has sensationally issued a public apology. She had to do this after she used an objectionable word for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. It happened during a live TV broadcast on her TV channel. She apologized amidst widespread condemnation for the controversial Times Now representative from her detractors. Many of them repeated that the ‘kachra’ jibe was once used by Arnab Goswami for his former colleague.
Navika was broadcasting a program on the unfolding situation in Punjab. During this, she used the word ‘bloody’ for Rahul Gandhi. The use of such an objectionable term for Rahul Gandhi gave way to angry reactions from Congress supporters. They immediately demanded an apology from the Times Now executive.
Navika took the aid of Twitter to apologize for the lapse in the flow of her conversation. She tweeted, “The momentary lapse in the flow of conversation in using an unparliamentary word on air was in the context of describing the political situation in Punjab which Shri Rahul Gandhi thought had been addressed before he took a break but persisted ironically at the time of his return. The context was certainly not to describe any person as is being misquoted. As can be seen in the clip, it was unintentional and immediately retracted. Sincere apology for the lapse.”
However, Navika continued to earn the netizens’ anger and disrespect even after issuing the public apology. Many of them reminded her how her former boss, Arnab Goswami, had used ‘kachra’ (rubbish) jibe for her in the past.
A user named Gaurav Pandhi tweeted, “How dare#KachraNavika to use derogatory language against @RahulGandhi. It is a warning to @TimesNow and @navikakumar. They must publicly apologize or face consequences in a Gandhian way! @vineetjaintimes is this your news channel or what? APOLOGIZE!” Another tweeted, “In his leaked chats, Arnab called Navika ‘kachra’. Arnab was right for the first time.” A third person tweeted, “Navika Kumar reads whatsapp chats, asks sportsman uncomfortable questions, praises the Government, and abuses the opposition. Even kachra can be useful after recycling but Navika cannot be.” Rohan Gupta issued a single question in his tweet, “Who are insulting kachra?” A fifth person tweeted, “The only thing that I agree with @AmitShah is that Navika is kachra.”
The use of this unparliamentary word against Rahul Gandhi came during a program on Times Now. They were discussing the fallout of Navjot Singh Sidhu’s resignation as Punjab Congress President. Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Sonia Gandhi were reportedly in Shimla when there occurred this crisis in the party’s Punjab unit. Many senior leaders such as Jairam Ramesh and Salman Khurshid have appeared on Navika’s show named ‘Frankly Speaking’ in the past. This show was aired on Times Now. But now, the Congress has officially boycotted Times Now.
