Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose party registered win in 99 Lok Sabha seats, engaged in a back and forth with a journalist during a press conference calling for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and senior BJP leaders over what he alleges to be a stock market "scam". The incident happened when the reporter asked him a question about his allegations on possibility of a connection between market trading activities and exit poll projections.
In the video that has since gone viral, Gandhi can be seen heckling reporter Mausami Singh of Aaj Tak. “Previously, we have seen that the government and the Opposition lock horns during sessions over demands for a JPC probe. And sessions are washed out. And public money is wasted,” Singh said.
Watch the video below
Interrupting her, Gandhi said, “Yeh to BJP ki line hai (This is the BJP’s line).”
“No, but public money..." Singh proceeded with her question but the Congress leader again interrupted her saying, “Aap aisi t-shirt le lo na ek (Get a T-shirt like this). I will give it to you. I will give you their (BJP) symbol. This is their line”
“It’s a different matter altogether if you don’t like the question,” Singh said. To this Gandhi replied, “I like the question a lot.”
Singh continued with her question, asking, “Since work is hampered because of JPC demand, is there an alternative to look at this since public money is spent on JPC.”
This time, without passing sarcastic remarks, Gandhi replied, “We are telling the people that a scam has clearly taken place." He added that the Modi, Shah, home minister and finance minister had indicated this. According to Gandhi, it’s often the BJP’s position that parliament’s time is being wasted whenever a demand for JPC is raised, and that is “why I told you that this is the BJP’s line”.
Often known for calling out Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not holding a press conference during his 10-year tenure, Gandhi's behaviour drew criticism on social media by fellow journalists.
However, some social media users argued that Gandhi's response to Singh was due to "bad faith questions" journalists asked the Opposition under the BJP's rule.
Gandhi's incident came after Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav was threatening a journalist after his party won 37 Lok Sabha seats. The incident happened when a group of journalists asked his reaction on the Lok Sabha elections results.
In the video, Yadav can be seen talking to the reporters, when he turned his attention towards one reporter. In anger, the SP chief said, "Bhai, kyun kar rahe ho tum yeh? ... Dusra ilaj karaye kya tumhara? (Why are you doing this, brother? Should I give you another treatment?)."
