The internet has given celebrities the unprecedented ability to communicate with the world at large, but it also gives the world-at-large the ability to peek into their lives.
Eagle-eyed netizens have pointed out how former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and former NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan appear to be taking video calls from the same location. “Same wallpaper in the background? Shhhhhhh humko kuch nahi pata,” tweeted Twitter user @mayursejpal, sharing two screengrabs from what appears to be Omar Abdullah’s and Nidhi Razdan’s video calls. The background of both images has the same set of four paintings, making it appear that they were taking calls from the same location.
Same wallpaper in the background?
Shhhhhhh humko kuch nahi pata 😂 pic.twitter.com/I6YYRxMLzS
— Mayur Sejpal | मयूर सेजपाल 🇮🇳 (@mayursejpal) September 23, 2020
“Same Flight Now Same background Chal kya raha hai?” wrote Twitter user Rishi Bagree.
Other Twitter users also speculated on their relationship.
The two pictures appear to have been taken at least a month apart. The screengrab featuring Nidhi Razdan is from an interview she’d done with Faye D’Souza on 24th August. Omar Abdullah, on the other hand, had himself tweeted the picture on 20th September.
Today I joined my @JKNC_ colleagues Sagar Sb & @DevenderSRana along with senior leaders from Jammu province in paying tribute to our friend & colleague Th Rachhpal Singh who passed away recently. We all share a deep sense of loss at his untimely & tragic demise. pic.twitter.com/cQJY6oGdKQ
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) September 20, 2020
There have been murmurs about the relationship between Omar Abdullah and Nidhi Razdan for years. A photograph featuring the duo aboard an airplane had recently gone viral. The Daily Switch was unable to independently verify the veracity of the picture.
Omar Abdullah had married Payal Nath in 1994, but had separated in 2011. Payal Nath had alleged that she had not received any assistance from Abdullah since 2013. In 2016, Payal Nath was evicted from the government bunglow she’d been staying in. Omar Abdullah had approached the courts for divorce, but courts had refused to provide it without the consent of Payal Nath. In July this year, a Delhi court had declined to entertain his plea for an early hearing in the divorce case.
Nidhi Razdan’s alleged closeness with Omar Abdullah, though, would raise several questions around her stint at NDTV. Until a few months ago, Nidhi Razdan was employed with NDTV, and her closeness with a politician would certainly create a conflict of interest with her reporting. NDTV is often thought to be unjustifiably against the Modi government, and the closeness of a top journalist with a member of the opposition is something a responsible channel ought to perhaps have disclosed to its viewers.