On September 9, as camera crews huddled outside Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut’s office in Mumbai, an ABP News correspondent stated on air that some protesters at the venue have been brought in by a channel.

The correspondent claimed that “police presence is needed as a particular channel is calling people here for sloganeering. Representatives of the Karni Sena and Shiv Sena may also come here.” When the anchor interjected, the reporter reiterated: “Yes, a channel has brought a group of protesters here who are shouting pro-Kangana slogans and are also lashing out at other channels.”

The video clip was shared on Twitter by a couple of India Today journalists to suggest that the channel in question is Republic TV. Without naming Republic TV, journalists like Milan Sharma, a correspondent with India Today, used the hashtag #BananaRepublic.

Both Republic TV and India Today have been caught in a bitter war for ratings ever since the Broadcast Audience Research Council released its latest ratings. According to this data, Republic TV is at the Number 1 spot based on the ratings between August 22-28. In the category of Hindi news channels also, Republic Bharat was at the topmost spot followed by Aaj Tak. Earlier this week, Rahul Kanwal had taken a dig at its rival channel. Republic TV retorted by posting the BARC ratings from their official handle.

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