Indian opposition parties have demanded an inquiry into a conversation between an aggressive television news anchor and Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and the head of a rating company, which revealed that the Modi government had targeted Pakistan. I was already aware of the Balakot incident on February 26, 2019.
According to most Indian media outlets, during the investigation into the manipulation of television ratings, Mumbai Police had said in their investigation that Arnab Goswami was aware of the attack on Balakot three days before.
According to the report, the conversation between the two is part of an additional charge sheet of 3,400 pages.
The police probe began in October last year after allegations of rigging in the rating system on TV channels in the western state of Maharashtra surfaced.
According to the news agency Reuters, Arnab Goswami has denied having any prior knowledge of the air strikes.
"The intention to attack Pakistan was at the state level after the Pulwama attack," he said in a statement released by Republic TV.
"There was no doubt in the minds of any nationalist Indian that we would strike back," Anchor added.
Arnab Goswami accused India's opposition parties of playing the role of 'interpreters' for Pakistan.
Indian defense and foreign ministry spokesmen declined to comment on the document.
India's main opposition party, the Congress Party, and Shiv Sena, a local party in the state of Maharashtra, have demanded a government probe into the messages.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that after these messages, there was a need for a "serious investigation" by the Modi government, which has made national security a top priority.
It may be recalled that the police investigation in India was launched in October last year after allegations of rigging in the rating system on TV channels in the western state of Maharashtra surfaced.
According to excerpts from a conversation between Arnab Goswami and Prithu Das Gupta, the head of the rating company, Arnab Goswami had warned Das Gupta on February 23, 2019 that "something else will be bigger".
On February 26, 2019, Indian fighter jets carried out an airstrike in Balakot and in this regard New Delhi claimed that they had destroyed the militant camp, but Pakistan denied these claims while later the Indian Defense Minister Also apologized for giving details of the damage caused by the attack.
Two days after the attack, India again tried to violate Pakistan's airspace on February 28, but Pakistan Air Force fighters shot down two Indian fighter jets and arrested one pilot, Nandan.
A day after the Balakot incident, Prithvi Das Gupta asked Goswami if this was the case you had hinted at.
Goswami replied in the affirmative, "More is going to happen."
Goswami wrote to Prithvi Das Gupta about the death of 40 Indian soldiers in the Plowama attack on February 14, 2019, and how the attack boosted his channel's rating.
According to excerpts from The Wire, at 5:43 a.m. on the day of the attack, the message was that "this attack has been an extraordinary success."
