Journalist Richa Parashar, who is three months pregnant, has alleged that Rahul Gandhi grabbed and pushed her.
Parashar said she fell on the steps after being allegedly shoved by Gandhi’s security personnel.
BJP leaders have backed the journalist, while the competing claims have intensified the political dispute.
A three-month pregnant journalist has alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi grabbed and pulled her hand and pushed her during the Opposition’s protest over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on the Supreme Court premises on Monday. The journalist, Richa Parashar of news website Oneindia, has been admitted to a hospital in New Delhi.
Congress has denied the allegation, calling it propaganda allegedly orchestrated by the BJP. The incident has triggered a political row, with BJP leaders backing the journalist and Congress leaders questioning her account and the interpretation of videos circulating online.
Parashar told NDTV that she was upset by social media users and Rahul Gandhi’s supporters allegedly “badmouthing her” and downplaying her experience.
“This is not about Congress or BJP. I am just a common citizen doing my job. Very unfortunate some of the things people are saying,” she told NDTV.
Journalist Says She Fell On Steps After Alleged Push
Speaking from her hospital bed, Parashar alleged that she was waiting near a gate on the Supreme Court premises to seek a soundbite from Rahul Gandhi as he left the venue. She said she initially moved her microphone away after the Congress leader gestured for her to do so, but extended it again when other journalists began putting their microphones forward.
“Before I could fully process what was happening — my cameraperson was behind me — Rahul Gandhi moved forward with a very unpleasant expression. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand — right here — and yanked me forward,” she told NDTV.
Parashar alleged that Gandhi’s security personnel then shoved her away, causing her to fall face-first on steps near the entrance. She also claimed that her cameraman was pushed and fell on top of her, followed by four or five other people amid the crowd.
She said she fell on her knees and stomach and that her phone was shattered while the microphone receiver was dislodged.
Parashar also maintained that footage recorded by her cameraman captured the incident and that her voice could be heard in the recording. However, Congress leaders and supporters have disputed her account, arguing that videos circulating online do not clearly show Gandhi pushing or pulling her.
The alleged incident took place as INDIA bloc leaders staged a protest seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR exercise.
Congress Disputes Allegation, BJP Leaders Back Journalist
Congress leader Alka Lamba rejected Parashar’s allegations in a post on X, citing what she described as inconsistencies in the account and questioning the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s hospital visit.
“Protest during pregnancy carries risk. They say Rahul Gandhi pushed her at 3-4 pm and then they say she went to hospital at 8.30 pm. Her sister reached the BJP MLA’s office to manufacture propaganda. She underwent an X-ray which is usually not done during pregnancy,” Lamba wrote.
Other Congress leaders and supporters shared videos showing journalists surrounding Rahul Gandhi and the commotion that followed. They argued that the available visuals did not establish that the Congress leader had pushed the journalist.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, who visited Parashar at the hospital along with other party leaders, accused Congress workers of failing to help her and instead questioning her account.
“Rahul Gandhi, who speaks of ‘smashing the patriarchy,’ behaved like a goon,” Bhandari told reporters, adding that the incident reflected what he described as the Congress party’s treatment of women.
Parashar, meanwhile, maintained that the incident was not about political affiliations but about her experience while performing her professional duties.
The competing claims have fuelled a political dispute over the incident, with the journalist alleging physical aggression and Congress leaders denying the allegation. The available accounts and disputed video footage do not, by themselves, establish the full sequence of events.
