Arnab chats: CWC demands JPC probe

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 22

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Friday deliberated on the leaked Arnab Goswami-Partho Dasgupta chats and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the alleged breach of national security and violations of the Official Secrets Act.

The WhatsApp chats reveal Republic TV editor Arnab telling ex-Broadcast Audience Research Council boss Dasgupta that something big will happen on Pakistan. The chat is dated February 23, 2019 and the IAF strike in Balakot happened on February 26, 2019. “Those guilty of treasonous behaviour must be brought before the law and punished,” the CWC said in a resolution slamming “sordid conversations that compromised national security”.

The CWC passed two other resolutions, one demanding free Covid vaccines for SCs, STs, OBCs and the poor and the other seeking repeal of the farm laws.

Addressing the CWC, Congress president Sonia Gandhi attacked the Centre for “inflexibility on farm issues.”

She called the Centre’s silence on the Arnab chats “deafening” and quoted former defence minister AK Antony to describe the leaked chats as treason. On farmers’ agitation, Sonia said: “The agitation continues and the government has shown shocking insensitivity and arrogance going through the charade of consultations.”