'Malicious, Defamatory & Fake News': India TV Warns Of Legal Action Against Congress' Ragini Nayak For Accusing Rajat Sharma Of Abusing Her On Air

India TV on Tuesday has warned of legal consequences to Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh after Nayak accused the news channel's senior journlist Rajat Sharma of verbally abusing on air. Late Monday night, Nayak took to X to share a video clip of her debate on India TV with Sharma and alleged that he used a cuss word against her.

Countering Nayak's allegations, India TV's legal head Ritika Talwar said in a statement that Sharma was known for his "cultured and civilised behaviour both on and off air" and that television viewers "world over appreciate his polite and gentle style of anchoring". Talwar further accused Nayak's allegations of being "absolutely false and lack any basis and foundation".

"They are malicious and defamatory and clearly constitute fake news. You have blatantly violated all limits of public decency by falsely accusing a personality of high repute. We are taking legal advice on this to take further action," Talwar's statement read. "Meanwhile, we have come to know that you are trying to further compound the imperceivable by proposing a press conference and disseminating the same baseless, false and defamatory news once again. We warn you that you should desist from this. We reiterate that Mr. Sharma has never used abusive language in private or public life. Inference drawn by you from the non-existent and imaginary are per se defamatory. We reserve the right to take further legal action."

What are Ragini Nayak's allegations against Rajat Sharma?

Nayak, who is also Congress spokesperson, accused Sharma of verbally abusing her on a live debate. She also shared a video proof saying that Sharma said "kya beh****od" when she was at the live debate on India TV during the Lok Sabha election results.

Nayak shared the video clip saying, "The first video was brought to my attention on 'X'! In this video, @RajatSharmaLive is seen using an obscene curse word against me On Air! I did a fact-check! I retrieved the raw footage of this same video from the channel (the second video). What could be a lower level of journalism than this? Do you have any answer, Rajat Sharma?"

The allegations kicked up a row, with several Congress supporters slamming Sharma. Some also called for strict action against him. However, Sharma has not said anything yet on the matter.