A day after the Opposition alliance INDIA announced boycotting 14 news anchors, the BJP on Friday took a swipe at the Congress over the decision for hate-mongering. Launching a scathing attack on Congress, the ruling party said shunning media or any other institution will do it no good and the party can only benefit by boycotting Rahul Gandhi as he has no strength.
What all did BJP say?
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters that there is no institution in India that this Opposition alliance has not attacked, be it the Election Commission or courts,
All of them are doing their work well, he said before targeting Gandhi.
"If there is someone who is not up to it and who the Congress should indeed boycott for its own benefit, then his name is Rahul Gandhi... Your leader has no strength. Who all will you boycott? If you have to boycott and move ahead, then boycott your leader."
The Congress leader speaks about 'Mohabbat' (love) but sells 'Nafrat' (hate), he claimed.
In a polemic attack on the Opposition alliance, Patra sought to know if the list of journalists that the opposition alliance will boycott is more of a "target list", indicating that they will be slapped with criminal cases and will not be spared. If they are targeted by some people, including members of these parties, then who will be responsible, he posed.
Patra said the Congress has a history of going after the media, citing the first amendment brought by Jawaharlal Nehru to curb absolute freedom of expression, the Emergency promulgated by Indira Gandhi and the defamation law proposed by Rajiv Gandhi.
Congress leaders questioned the existence of Lord Ram while the likes of Bihar minister and RJD leader Chandra Shekhar targeted Ramchairtmanas. These leaders are not boycotted but journalists questioning these parties about corruption in states ruled by them and saying "good things" about G20 and India are boycotted, he said.
"Netas can raise questions on God but journalists can't question these netas," Patra said.
Besides Patra, Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that the "Congress-led alliance" of the opposition parties have decided to boycott 14 electronic media anchors as they are uncomfortable with their questions and do not want to give a reply.
"They are yet to come to power at Centre, a dream that will never fructify, but look at their arrogance; how they are showing blatant disregard to constitutional values by engaging in cancel culture," he added.
Prasad said the boycott of these journalists by the opposition alliance is a grim reminder of the emergency days when the government of the time used to arrest editors and impose censorship on media publications.
