What if Arnab Goswami’s WhatsApp chats were retrieved from the phone of a Muslim journalist?

In one of his chats with Partho Dasgupta, the former BARC chief, Arnab Goswami revealed that his sources believed the BJP would fall short of a majority in the 2019 general election. But the NDA, he claimed, would win around 300 seats.

This chat was followed by the Pulwama terror attack and India’s retaliatory strike inside Pakistan. The chats reveal that three days before the Balakot strike, Goswami knew a strike was imminent and that people would be elated. He also said that it was good for the ‘big man’ in ‘this season’.

Operational details on a messenger service could have fallen into the hands of anyone, which is why it amounts to breach of national security. No prizes for guessing what the Modi Government and the NIA would have thought of such leaks and how they would have reacted; especially if the chats were retrieved from a Muslim journalist’s phone or that of an activist or a lawyer.

What is even more significant is that Goswami boasts he is using the ‘exact words’ in reporting that ‘people will be elated’. Who was he quoting? And was this the strategic purpose of the military operation? Did India sacrifice a plane, a helicopter, lives of at least six men and the capture of a pilot by Pakistan for a political purpose?

Here are some of the chats:

FEBRUARY 23, 2019

Arnab Goswami: On another note, something big will happen

PDG: Dawood

AG: No, sir. Pakistan. Something major will be done this time.

PDG: Good.

AG: It is good for big man in this season.

PDG: He will sweep polls then…strike? Or bigger?

AG: Bigger than a normal strike. And also, at the same time, something major on Kashmir. On Pakistan the Government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated. Exact words used.

PDG: Hmm…Invitation to (visit) Kashmir. Shouldn’t go?

AG: Sushma is going to OIC on 2nd March. That means nothing till then.

(The Balakot strike took place on February 26 and developments in Kashmir had to wait till August)

FEBRUARY 26, 2019

AG: Aajtak has lost it. Blacked out PM today.

PDG: What happened?

AG: End of the channel. Aajtak cannot be number 1. Blacked out Modi on a day Modi…Modi…Modi…Modi all over.

PDG: I could see -he was on all other screens.

AG: They also carried fake Pak propaganda video

PDG: Really? That Pak General one? Some 12 channels got notices. Same one ?

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

PDG: Was yesterday’s air-strike the ‘big one’ you spoke about? Or something more coming?

AG: More to come. One Pak F-16 crashed—one Indian also.

PDG: You should embed some reporters—would be a coup like CNN in Iraq.

AG: Where our plane was down, they haven’t left Srinagar and we are live from Budgam.

AUGUST 2, 2019

AG: Government of India to make Jammu a separate state, Kashmir and Ladakh as Union Territories…means can’t have any political party, and will be controlled by Delhi based Governor for ever. Order in next one week. Curfew will be imposed two days ahead of order. It will automatically abrogate Article 370 and 35 A.

PDG: True?

AG: Sir

PDG: Big one

AG: Sir, I have set Platinum standards in breaking and this story is ours. Meeting NSA and PMO Monday

(The announcement was made in Parliament on August 5 and the Prime Minister, who met a National Conference delegation on August 2, denied any such plan)

AUGUST 5, 2019

AG: Operation Kashmir. Live updates from Ground Zero with 10 reporters across J & K…Republic Bharat is getting live updates on situation in the Valley from 6.12 am

PDG: Not understanding—just increasing number of policemen in front of Omar and Mehbooba’s houses—does it mean house arrest? Has any official called it house arrest?

AG: Gazab ka hai din…socho zara

Omar: Hum bhi akele

Mehbooba: Hum bhi akele

Amit Shah: Maza aa raha hai ?

Public: Kasam Se

PDG: Lodha Developers moves in…Kashmir is now renamed as Upper Haryana

PDG: Just a suggestion…don’t mix Hindi in English channel. South viewers may start switching out.

AG: Because my first burst of reporters landing in Srinagar were from Bharat…today I was called by NSA and asked how I got the news…Doval met me before taking off for Kashmir.

(Shows Goswami used his advance knowledge to position teams in Kashmir)

OCTOBER 14, 2019

Arnab Goswami: President: Sourav Ganguly; Secretary: Jay Shah; Treasurer: Arun Dhumal. This really puts Rajat in his place. Has zero clout and now faces inquiry on corruption in DDCA. No need to be worried about him and his sub-standard channel.

Partho Dasgupta (PDG): But still on IBF Board…some seniors still think he is powerful.

AG: They will know after this. He had announced he is taking over BCCI. Now he looks like an utter fool…the solution is first to stop letting him get away by fudging with BARC system. He is a cheat and now a cheat who even an MP doesn’t give a damn to. Single channel owner with fading image.

PDG: Why is Uday keeping him in IBF Board?

AG: Because he told him he will be BCCI chief.

(BCCI election took place on October 23 and Ganguly and Shah, son of Home Minister Amit Shah, were elected as President and Secretary)

The supplementary charge sheet filed by Mumbai Police against former BARC chief Partho Dasgupta and Republic TV Editor-in-Chief and owner Arnab Goswami include chats between the two over the last five years. Several hundred pages of chats also include chats among BARC officials and others. Goswami is yet to deny them