Rahul Asks Journalist 'Why Do You Always Say What BJP Is Saying', Faces Flak For 'Insulting' Media Again

Rahul Gandhi's counter to a journalist "why do you always say what BJP is saying" after he was asked about the ruling party's criticism of the Congress leader, evoked a sharp reaction on Tuesday from the BJP which accused him of "attacking" the media again.

The former Congress president, who was walking into the Congress headquarters here, was asked about the BJP's allegation that he tried to pressure the judiciary after he was joined by a large number of party leaders and workers while filing an appeal in a Surat court against his conviction in a defamation case on Monday.

Gandhi walked back to the media posse and asked, "Why do you always say what BJP is saying? Every time you say what BJP is saying."

"There is a very simple thing. Who owns the Rs 20,000 cr in Adani ji's shell companies? It is 'benami'. Who owns it," Gandhi said, reiterating his allegations.

In a tweet later, Gandhi questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" and asked why is he "frightened".'

Targeting him, the BJP said that "insulting the country's backward classes and the media is Rahul Gandhi's mindset" and called him an "arrogant dynast".

"Rahul Gandhi has again attacked the fourth pillar of democracy. Insulting the country's backward classes and the media is Rahul Gandhi's mindset.

"He is following in the footsteps of his grandmother with his audacity to frequently attack the country's democratic system," BJP's chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni tweeted.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Rahul is an arrogant dynast."

Gandhi's snub to a journalist during a recent press conference had drawn flak after he was asked about the BJP's allegation of insulting OBCs with his "Modi surname" jibe.

Noting that the question was asked to him at the conference twice already, he had accused the reporter of working for the BJP and told him not to "pretend" to be a journalist.

-With PTI Input