Amethi/New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) In a scathing retort to Narendra Modi's reported "daughter" comment, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Thursday said she was the daughter of late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, while controversy-hit Doordarshan clarified there was no "deliberate editing" of the BJP prime ministerial candidate's interview.
"My father is Rajiv Gandhi. He laid down his life for the country. He cannot be compared to any other person," Priyanka Gandhi, the daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, said angrily in Amethi.
She was reacting to a reported comment of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Modi in an interview aired on Doordarshan April 27 that Priyanka Gandhi was like a daughter.
Following a media report that said Modi's comment made during the interview to Doordarshan was edited out, the BJP charged the ruling Congress with interference in the functioning of the public broadcaster.
But Doordarshan clarified there was "no deliberate editing or omission" of any part of Modi's interview.
"Wherever editing was done was for technical reasons and during post-production," Doordarshan said in a statement.
Priyanka Gandhi, who has been unsparing in her attacks on Modi during political campaigns in favour of Sonia Gandhi and her brother Rahul Gandhi, also said that she did not appreciate the comparison with her father, who was assassinated by a Tamil Tiger human bomb in 1991 during an election rally.
Asked by reporters if she was offended by Modi's comments, Priyanka said: "No, it doesn't really anger me... But enough is enough. I don't get offended by anything anyone says."
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari denied any interference in the state-run broadcaster, saying Prasar Bharati, under which Doordarshan and All India Radio function, is kept at "arms length" by the government.
"Prasar Bharati is an autonomous broadcaster and is governed by an act of parliament. The ministry of information and broadcasting has an arms-length relationship with the broadcaster. We do not interfere in their news agenda," Tewari told Times Now news channel.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram wondered if Priyanka Gandhi would appreciate Modi's reported paternal sentiments.
"I am happy that Modi considers Priyanka Gandhi as his daughter, but am not sure if she will be happy to consider Modi as a father figure," he said.
Latching onto the controversy to attack the Congress, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the interview should have been played out in full and "there should not have been any tinkering".
Another party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said: "Doordarshan already has been pressurised to function like a government mouthpiece."
Prasad said if Doordarshan had taken the interview and altered it under pressure, the country was entitled to know the answer.
"If Narendra Modi chose to give the interview to Doordarshan, I think the entire interview should have been played," Prasad told Times Now.
In its statement, Doordarshan said it had recorded the interview with Modi at Gandhinagar April 26 in a 'walk the talk' format.
"This was a three-camera production as Modi gave this interview while walking on his lawns and required a lot of post-production (editing) before putting it on air. The team came back from Gandhinagar in the late night of April 26 and after that, post-production was done to telecast it in a fixed slot," it said.
DD News said the interview was telecast at 9.30 p.m. April 27, with a repeat telecast at 3 p.m. April 28.
"There was no interference or control from any authority in the entire process. Important portions of the interview were used in all the important bulletins of DD News also. There was no attempt to downplay the interview, rather it was given wide pre-telecast publicity and also repeated the next day, April 28. The clips were also used in news bulletins," it said.
"Deepika marked presence at JNU only a film related publicity stunt": statement marked by the film maker Anurag Kashyap
Actor Deepika Padukone's visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi just to show her support for students who were mainly targeted in a mob attack has came up with a a powerful message
74 thousand patients increased in 24 hours, more than 76 thousand people also recovered; 902 infected died; 66.22 lakh cases so far
The number of corona patients in the country has increased to 66 lakh 22 thousand 136. It is a matter of relief that 55 lakh 83 thousand 414 people have been cured so far. 1 lakh 2 thousand 714
Awadh Ojha In Politics: Awadh Ojha joined the Aam Aadmi Party, will he try his luck in the elections?
Motivational speaker and famous teacher Avadh Ojha, who coaches IAS, joined Aam Aadmi Party today. He reached AAP headquarters with Aam Aadmi Party convenor and former CM Arvind Kejriwal and former
Key Maharashtra Police Post to Combat Terrorism Downgraded
Mumbai, Jan 31 (IANS) A key post created in the Maharashtra Police to combat terrorism and the Maoist menace in the state after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks was downgraded within four months,
Russian President Putin expressed grief over the Morbi Bridge accident, and wished the injured a speedy recovery
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the bridge accident in Gujarat's Morbi city. So far 134 people have died in this accident. In a
COP 15: COP 15 started in Canada to save nature, representatives from 196 countries including India included
The Conference on Biological Diversity (COP 15) began on Wednesday in the Canadian city of Montreal. Around 20,000 delegates from 196 countries including India are participating in the conference. The
Know why Khan sir is in controversy: 'Justice for Railway Student' trended on Twitter, explained in the video how 3 years of students wasted
Alleging irregularities in the RRB-NTPC result, the candidates created a ruckus at various places in Bihar. Protests also turned violent in Patna, Bhojpur, and Gaya. Now Khan sir of Patna has come
CSK: Chennai CEO revealed, Dhoni played the whole season without complaining of injury, no soreness with Jadeja
Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has undergone knee surgery. He is currently resting. After three weeks of rest, he will go to Ranchi and start training for his fitness. Although he
Parigi Named Network 18 Group CEO
Mumbai, Jan 14 (IANS) A.P. Parigi, who built the Radio Mirchi brand for the Times Group, has been named group chief executive of the Reliance Industries-controlled Network 18."Parigi has built a
Afghanistan skipper Nabi blames losing early wickets for loss
Canberra, Feb 18 (IANS) Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi rued losing too many wickets upfront as the main cause for their loss against Bangladesh in a Pool A World Cup encounter here
