Nagpur/New Delhi, March 14 (IANS) Targeting the media again, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal alleged large sections of it were indulging in "paid publicity" favouring BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and threatening to jail them if his party won. He retracted Friday after his comments led to an uproar from media and political parties.
The Editors Guild of India said the repeated attacks on the media by Kejriwal "violates the norms of decent democratic debate."
The AAP leader's remarks, made at a private Rs.10,000 per plate gala fund-raising dinner at the deluxe Hotel Tuli International in Nagpur late Thursday, came to light when a video of the proceedings leaked out early Friday.
"Since past one year, the media has been drumming support for Modi in people's minds. An aura is sought to be created that corruption would end and Ramrajya will come if Modi is elected," Kejriwal said.
"Why such a thing is happening? Because businessmen have paid money to media and television channels to promote Modi," he alleged.
Reiterating his statements in Mumbai two days ago, Kejriwal said that 800 farmers committed suicide in Gujarat in the past decade, but the media never highlighted this.
Naming a private corporate hosue which was allegedly given land at Re.1 an acre, he said no TV channel exposed it, but the very same TV channels go on showing how Kejriwal has taken increased levels of security.
"To hell with my security... But, the media will not reveal the truth about Modi," he said.
Smelling "a big conspiracy," Kejriwal added that this time, "the entire media has sold itself" and if AAP came to power, he would jail corrupt businessmen and the media.
Confronted on his comments Friday morning by an angry media, he initially declined to comment and then virtually retracted: "How can I speak against you (the media)?"
By then, the entire media and all political parties unitedly condemned Kejriwal's remarks with AAP leaders in New Delhi facing a barrage of uncomfortable questions from media but defending their leader.
This was the second time in a single day during Kejriwal's three-day Maharashtra campaign that the AAP attacked the media for various reasons.
On Thursday, the AAP blamed the media and Mumbai police for the chaos and confusion during Kejriwal's trip to Mumbai the previous day when he travelled by autorickshaw, a suburban train and later addressed a rally in Kannamwar Nagar.
At a press conference in Delhi, AAP defended Kejriwal, saying that they will approach the Election Commission against three news channels which they accused of being biased towards Modi.
Speaking to reporters, former journalist Ashish Khetan who has been given ticket from the New Delhi constituency, said that media was unfairly targeting the AAP.
"There are so many issues but the media is behind only Arvind Kejriwal. Not even one question is being asked about Modi's rallies," he said.
Johnson's visit to India: British MP of Pakistan origin raised the issue of Islamophobia, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi gave a befitting reply
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday targeted Naz Shah, a Pakistani-origin MP of Britain\'s Labor Party. While advising the MP, Naqvi said that all citizens including minorities are
After the increasing cases of the corona, the center asked the two states of Kerala and Maharashtra to consider night curfew
The central government has asked two states of the country - Kerala, and Maharashtra to consider imposing a night curfew. For the last two days, more than 40 thousand new cases of corona are being
3 killed in Houston: Attacker first set a building on fire; As people came out, shot
In the US state of Texas, a man ejected from an apartment building in the city of Houston killed three people in the building. The man first set the apartment on fire and as people came out, he opened
IND vs PAK: 'If I were captain, I wouldn't shake hands with Pakistani players,' Praveen Kumar said bluntly.
Former Indian cricketer and chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Senior Selection Committee, Praveen Kumar, says that India and Australia are strong contenders for the T20 World Cup. Regarding the
Tiddi Dal: Difficulties in flying, landing with locust crew, DGCA issued instructions
Locust parties that are wreaking havoc on greenery in the country after entering Pakistan have also caused problems for the planes. The aviation regulator DGCA has instructed the pilots to take extra
Jai Shri Ram: Jai Shri Ram will not be removed, the biased attitude of the censor board officer must be exposed to the world
The debate is going on in the Bombay High Court regarding the removal of the phrase Jai Shri Ram from a dialogue in Hindi cinema's veteran producer-director K C Bokadia's film 'Teesri Begum'. During
FIR against Rakhi Birla for poll violation
New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) An FIR has been filed against AAP candidate Rakhi Birla for violating the model code of conduct, the Election Commission (EC) said Thursday."Rakhi Birla was spotted on
Adani Wilmar Listing: Adani Group's seventh company knocked in the stock market, listing at a 4 percent discount from the issue price
Adani Wilmar, a company headed by Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, was listed on the stock exchange on Tuesday. This is his seventh company to be listed in the market. However, contrary to
Arvind Kejriwal: SC will hear the plea of CM Arvind Kejriwal today, know what is the matter?
The Supreme Court will on Monday hear Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging the Delhi High Court order upholding the summons issued to him in a criminal defamation case for retweeting an
European Union adopted new law to strengthen cyber security, China is not the reason
The European Union has adopted the newly revised Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) to strengthen its cyber security work amid rising cyberattacks. These new rules are part of wider
