Prime Time Comedy Show: Netizens Ridicule Indian, Pakistani Panelists 'Brandishing Weapons' on TV

New Delhi (Sputnik): While heated verbal attacks are routine in any news channel debate these days, an Indian station became the target of mockery after pundits started threatening each other with weapons during a live show.

Indian news channel Republic TV, notorious for its high-decibel debates,  saw pundits from India and Pakistan threaten each other by brandishing a toy missile and arrow during a discussion.

The panelists from India and Pakistan were on the news channel to discuss the Indian Army’s recent operation to foil a suicide car bombing in Kashmir. The panelists were Maninderjeet Singh Bitta, chairman of the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front, and Engineer Iftikhar Chaudhry, Deputy Secretary Information for Pakistan’s ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

The video snippets from the debate have become a viral sensation on Twitter with netizens calling it a “circus”, and a “cartoon channel”. 

Indo-Pak war
In times of COVID 19

SO....IT'S NOT
WORK FROM HOME ANYMORE
IT'S CALLED
WAR FROM HOME!!🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/qPAPHdcTjA

— Sandeep Ahlawat (@SandyAhlawat89) May 29, 2020

These days Porn makes more sense than many mainstream news channel.

— Prasad Deshpande (@copychef1981) May 28, 2020

this is the 15th time i'm watching this, it still cracks me up like shit

— Ankit (@Fundeywala) May 28, 2020

Others called out the TV channel for stooping to a ‘low level of journalism' in a quest for TRP (target rating points) while pointing out the coincidence of both pundits bringing fake weapons to the studio.

Did the panelists bring the weapons on their own or on some special request?

Nation wants to know 😅 pic.twitter.com/C9bz3csHrY

— Arun Bothra (@arunbothra) May 28, 2020

Third rate journalism by @republic .
Taking journalism down to the lowest levels for the sake of TRP.

Only English news channel of worth in India is @WIONews

— MVR (@MarkivOar) May 28, 2020

Future of journalism, sadly though. Makes me feel ashamed as a journalist. More than news it looks like a TV soap. 👎🏽

— SALMAN RAVI (@salmanravi) May 28, 2020

The channel was also trolled for another one of its debates in which its anchor Arnab Goswami blamed Pakistan and Imran Khan for a locust attack in India. 

Arnab is blaming Pakistan for locusts in India. Yes, you read that right pic.twitter.com/gCeVAOWmf7

— Parth MN (@parthpunter) May 28, 2020

क्या टिड्डी खाने वाला इमरान खान, अब पूरे पाकिस्तान को बारूद खिलाना चाहता है? देखिए 'पूछता है भारत' अर्नब के साथ रिपब्लिक भारत पर LIVE : https://t.co/G945HvRmSx pic.twitter.com/n2WPfJLOtF

— रिपब्लिक.भारत (@Republic_Bharat) May 28, 2020