The pro-Congress and ultra-biased leftist rag NewsLaundry, always itching to find any opportunity to target the BJP, has once again seized the moment with its infamous show, “News Sense.” Known for shielding Congress-allied governments while relentlessly attacking the BJP, the show features propagandist journalist Manisha Pande, who carefully defends and overlooks the shortcomings of opposition-led states. Ironically, this time, the left-leaning propaganda outlet has decided to scrutinize the Maharashtra government—run by the BJP— over the case of Santosh Deshmukh, a sarpanch from Massajog village in Beed district, who was abducted, brutally beaten, and tortured to death by an unidentified mob.
In a recent 19-minute video, journalist Manisha Pande states, “In 2024, a Sarpanch was brutally murdered in Maharashtra’s Beed district. The victim, Santosh Deshmukh, was tortured and killed. One video showed him half-naked and severely bleeding, while another depicted one of the accused urinating on him. Deshmukh was a BJP supporter, and his murder was linked to a BJP government minister in Maharashtra. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde’s close aide was one of the main accused in this case. Munde was eventually forced to resign, and the Maharashtra opposition seized the moment to attack the BJP government. The opposition parties in Maharashtra demanded action and planned to corner the government in the Vidhan Sabha. But guess what happened next? The media suddenly shifted focus. The news of Deshmukh’s murder was pushed aside, and instead, headlines were dominated by reports on Aurangzeb.”
In the video, Manisha Pande attempted to push the narrative that the BJP-led Maharashtra government deliberately amplified the Aurangzeb controversy to divert attention from the brutal murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, which implicated NCP MLA and Minister Dhananjay Munde’s close aide.
The tensions surrounding Aurangzeb’s controversy had already escalated due to calls for the removal of a 17th-century Mughal ruler’s tomb, sparking communal violence and prompting a curfew. Additionally, reports suggested that some individuals had displayed Aurangzeb’s image as their WhatsApp status in solidarity. Thus, the BJP did not manufacture the Aurangzeb issue—it was already a developing situation. Yet, Pande distorted the facts to fit her biased agenda, selling her narrative with sensationalism to mislead her audience.
Even in this video, the hypocritical journalism of the outlet is evident. They even featured ethnic violence in Manipur, calling it inhumane act and government inaction. But when it comes to Congress-allied government ,its a complete silence.
For example, how do you think they have reacted to the political violence in West Bengal, where 48 people were killed and over 400 were injured? If you think they would have called out Mamata Banerjee’s government with the same intensity, you’d be mistaken. Instead of taking the violence seriously, they mocked the situation, portraying it as something normal while subtly shielding the TMC government.
On 15 July 2023, during a Chhota Hafta podcast, Manisha Pande read out, “At least 45 people have been killed in West Bengal since the panchayat polls in the state were announced on June 8th. Incidents of destruction of ballot boxes and intimidation of voters were reported from many areas of the state. Meanwhile, the TMC on Tuesday swept the panchayat polls with the BJP as a distant second. The Kolkata High Court, however, has said that the poll results will be subject to ‘our ultimate order’.”
Immediately after reading this, Pande expressed surprise, questioning, “When did the last time you had heard the court say that?” pushing a narrative suggesting the court was biased in favor of the BJP.
Abhinandan Sekhri, the host, quickly joined in, saying, “Yeah, that was highly unusual.” Another panelist explained that the High Court had been monitoring the situation from the start, which is why paramilitary forces were deployed.
Sekhri, however, had a different agenda—propagating against the BJP. He immediately turned to panelist Monideepa Banerjee with a leading question, “It’s not a unique phenomenon, right? The violence in Bengal polls. Why is that so? Why is this tradition of such violent panchayat polls unique to a few states, and Bengal is one? What makes it such?” His framing of the question subtly shielded the Mamata Banerjee government, making it seem as though such violence was simply part of Bengal’s history, rather than a failure of the ruling TMC.
Even in the promo video, Sekhri showed zero concern for the victims of West Bengal’s violence. Instead, he joked about the situation, saying with laughter, “If someone wanted violence, they would just do it. That’s what Holi was for many people. I think it’s a thesis worth exploring—if someone has enmity with another person, they might just wait for elections. I think that’s a very reasonable and rational theory.”
This blatant display of bias once again proves that the media outlet selectively amplifies incidents based on political convenience, refusing to hold Congress-allied governments accountable while exaggerating issues under BJP rule.
So Newslaundry wants media to hold BJP govt in Maharashtra accountable for murder of sarpanch in Beed
Agree 100%
But don’t forget this old video of Newslaundry folks laughing and making jokes about dozens of political murders in Bengal panchayat polls. pic.twitter.com/f34e2DQIat
— Abhishek (@AbhishBanerj) March 23, 2025
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