After tainting by association BJP leaders, Congress leaders and media persons, the #LalitGate controversy has now dragged in journalists as well into its murky cesspool. In a candid tweeting session last night, former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi revealed that he’d met The UnReal Times satirist Ashwin Kumar sometime last year. We reproduce a couple of tweets here:
The development has come as a big relief to mainstream media anchors who were under pressure from social media to move on from BJP to other leaders implicated by Lalit Modi. “Thank God for these fresh tweets, yaa,” said a popular anchor. “Now we can put off going after Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and target URT instead for a few days!”
Later in the day, with flames licking the bottom half of the screen, the nation’s voice Arnab Goswami screamed: “WHY ARE URT EDITORS SILENT? WHY ARE THEY NOT SACKING ASHWIN KUMAR FOR BONDING WITH A INTERNATIONALLY HUNTED FUGITIVE? TWEET TO US WITH #CorruptingSatire”
The editors of The UnReal Times, however, have ruled out sacking Ashwin Kumar. “Dude, he has been writing one piece a day for the last three years without a single rupee in compensation. He can have an orgy with Robert Vadra, Kalmadi and Raja for all I care. We’ll still publish whatever he sends. Screw Arnab Goswami,” said editor Unreal Mama. Satirist Ashwin Kumar himself was unavailable for comment.
Meanwhile, the BJP offered to defend us on prime-time television in lieu of the payment the party supposedly owes The Unreal Times for years of supposedly pro-BJP satire. The party asked us if we’d like its champion spokesperson Sambit Patra to defend us on Newshour. We wrote back thanking them for the offer, and said that we’d rather send an empty chair.