Even as the ruling BJP and the Broadcast Editors’ Association condemned the alleged misbehaviour of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, with the crew of news agency ANI, the Congress sprang to his defence, urging the media to respect the privacy of individuals.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the Constitution and “our established ethos guarantee right of privacy, personal space and liberty to all individuals, more so, when a person is neither in public life nor holds any public office.”
He said the “unpleasantness of repeatedly asking questions at private functions, like what happened with Robert Vadra yesterday (Saturday), must be avoided at all times”, adding that “deliberate hounding of an individual on an issue that’s been conclusively settled and rejected by constitutional bodies must stop at some point.”
The Congress also tweeted and reminded the media of various earlier incidents involving the BJP, RSS and Shiv Sena that did not receive as much media glare.
“Want to remind my friends in media & BJP of incident when then Guj CM Narendra Modi had thrown the mike... and walked out of a pre-fixed interview with Karan Thapar when questioned on Gujarat riots,” the Congress tweeted on its official handle.
On criticism by the BJP that Vadra was hostile to questions, Surjewala said several BJP leaders including Modi and MP Murli Manohar Joshi had mistreated journalists in the past. “I would also humbly request friends of the media that in this day and age of professional competition, they will always continue to honour social mores as also balance out freedom of speech with respect for individual privacy,” he said.
Windfall gains Through the day, television channels aired footage of Vadra raising his voice when an ANI journalist asked him questions on a news report alleging that he got ₹44 crore in windfall gains in a Haryana land deal. The BJP said Vadra behaved in an undemocratic manner, while the Broadcast Editors’ Association asked him to tender an apology.
Meanwhile, when asked by reporters on the alleged land deal, Manohar Lal Khattar, the new Chief Minister of Haryana, said law would take its own course in the matter.